Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter has created a new health care panel for Idaho, and appointed the retiring head of the Health and Welfare Department to lead it.
It’s called the Governor’s Health Care Advisory Panel, or HCAP, and Otter created it last week by executive order. The group’s main job will be to review new federal or state health care initiatives and report to the governor and the Idaho Legislature.
The panel will provide research and guidance on health care policies. Members will also fine-tune the state's strategy for health care policy.
Otter says new state and federal health care policies need to be analyzed before applying them to Idaho.
Thursday Otter appointed Dick Armstrong to lead the panel. Armstrong is stepping down from Idaho Health and Welfare after 11 years on the job.
Other HCAP members will include people in the health care industry.
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