Idaho’s top elected leaders signed an executive order on Friday directing the state Department of Insurance to create guidelines for health insurance carriers to offer lower priced coverage plans.

Idaho health officials are taking another crack at addressing the state’s Medicaid gap. But unlike prior efforts to simply expand Medicaid or design special programs for low-income Idahoans, the new plan would help the middle class by getting health insurance rate hikes under control, its proponents say. In its fiscal 2018 budget request...