Politics & Government

An Essential Guide To Idaho's Medicaid Program

In the world of social programs, Medicaid is one of the hardest to understand. It’s something of a catch-all program for low-income people, covering broad and divergent needs. Included are healthy children and adults with eligible dependent children, people with disabilities or special health needs, and the elderly. Eligibility is income-based and it varies according the category of qualification for the program.During the state’s 2011 fiscal year, more than three quarters of the funding allocated to the Department of Health and Welfare’s budget went to Medicaid. The program received about $1.55 billion in federal and state funding, with 74 percent of those dollars coming from the federal government.Enrollment in Idaho’s Medicaid program has grown substantially in recent years. The average monthly Medicaid enrollment was fairly stable between 2006 and 2008. It grew by about 3.5 percent. But in the last three years, the program’s enrollment has grown nearly 21 percent. Ballooning from about 185,000 in 2008 to 228,897 in 2012.

Latest GOP Health Care Bill Would Bring Idaho Increase In Federal Funds

Boise State Public Radio News | By Frankie Barnhill

Published September 22, 2017 at 11:06 AM MDT

The latest attempt by Republican senators to repeal the Affordable Care Act is still looking for the 51 votes necessary to pass it this month. Known as the Graham-Cassidy bill, the policy would repeal Medicaid expansion for low-income folks and revoke the premium tax credits that are mainstays of Obamacare.

Sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the bill proposes giving block grants to states, arguing that this would give them more flexibility on how the money is spent.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, states that didn’t expand Medicaid under Obamacare would benefit financially under this system, at least initially. The study found that federal funding would go up by 27 percent in Idaho by 2026, whereas states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA stand to lose money. Neighboring Oregon would lose 32 percent of their funding over seven years if the plan goes through.

But so far, Governor Butch Otter has not endorsed the bill. According to the Associated Press Otter is unsure about how states could use the block grants. He did not join 15 other Republican governors who signed a letter backing the bill earlier this week.

Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill

Latest GOP Health Care Bill Would Bring Idaho Increase In Federal Funds

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