Trib: Otter can do right by working poor
In an editorial today, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune warns Idahoans not to hold their breath waiting for the Idaho Legislature to do the right thing and expand Medicaid coverage to 78,000 working poor Idahoans:
Legislators will never alleviate the suffering of 78,000 working poor Idaho adults by extending Medicaid coverage to them. If you doubt that, then you weren’t listening to the members of an interim legislative working group assigned to look into the issue. Among them:
- Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston - “We have to take into consideration that there are those in the 78,000 who could pay for their health insurance if they just worked a little more.”
- Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale - “I am not for Medicaid expansion. I think we’ve heard of some other options. I think we can come up with a really good solution that fits Idaho.”
- Sen. Steve Thayne, R-Emmett - “The reduction of overall medical costs, I don’t think it can be done within the structure of federal rules - that’s my big concern.”
- Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian - “This is a big elephant we’re trying to eat, and the way I’ve always been told is you do it one bite at a time.”
That’s four out of eight Republicans on a panel assigned to break the logjam that has stymied health care coverage for adults who make too little to qualify for subsidized private health insurance under Obamacare. More here .
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog