Tens of thousands of Idahoans are at risk of losing their Medicaid due to a new bill proposed by some Idaho lawmakers.
House Bill 58, if passed, would significantly cut Medicaid expansion.
Supporters of the bill said it would save the state over $100 million.
2023 polls from organization, Idaho Supports Medicaid, show 73% of Idaho voters support Medicaid expansion.
Reclaim Idaho, a nonprofit committed to improving the lives of working Idahoans, said repealing Medicaid could cost taxpayers more money if the state loses federal funding.
“It’s very clear that many of our legislators are out of touch with the people of Idaho on this issue. 61% of the people of Idaho voted for Medicaid expansion. The majority of every county in the state voted for it,” said Reclaim Idaho founder, Luke Mayville.
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, around 145,000 Idaho residents were enrolled in Medicaid Expansion in January 2023.
Coeur d’Alene representative Jordan Redman said he doesn’t want to the program repealed, but that certain changes to the program could help save the state money.
“One issue we deal with is the Department of Health and Welfare, within that budget, has a very large, improper payment, meaning that these payments are going where they should not go and that’s essentially fraud, waste and abuse,” he said.
Redman said he is drafting a bill that he hopes to give to the Health and Welfare Committee this week to help the current Medicaid system save money.
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