Dual-waiver health plan advances in Idaho House
Speaker after speaker said it wasn't a perfect bill, but it was a major step forward compared to the current situation, in which thousands of Idahoans delay seeking health care until it becomes an emergency because they can't afford it.
For example,
"I spent two years in waiting rooms listening to stories that were similar and worse than my father's," she said. "Two painful, excruciating years went by until my father died on the eve of his 67th birthday. My greatest wish would be that those making these decisions (on
Only two of the 29 people who testified spoke against the proposal, which would allow working adults who earn less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for premium subsidies through the state insurance exchange.
If the Idaho Health Care Plan is approved, state officials would apply for a federal waiver to remove the subsidy restriction. That would help about half the gap population; the remainder would still be barred because they don't file federal tax returns.
A second waiver would allow an estimated 2,500 Idahoans with complex, high-cost illnesses to move off their private insurance plans onto the Medicaid program. That would remove about
"This is an innovative, creative solution that addresses the problems we're facing in
"This (dual-waiver plan) is definitely a good first step to helping with that," he said. "We have the potential to improve the lives of 35,000 Idahoans."
The Rev.
"We ought to do this because we care," he said. "Do we want to send a message to the people who have been left at the perimeter of society, to be devoured by the predators of life, that we care about them? Or do we want to say it's too inconvenient, too expensive, we can't figure out how to get it done? There are many ways in which this bill is flawed ... but I think it's a place to start, to say we care."
Rep.
"I went 10 years without insurance and am thankful Medicaid was there when my wife was pregnant with our first child," he said. "This isn't that we don't care; it's that we have other options and different ways to solve the problem."
For example, reducing the regulatory burden could save doctors thousands of dollars each year, he said.
"We have the best, most innovative health care system in the world," Zollinger said. "All government has done the last 60 years is screw it up and make things worse and worse. We're fooling ourselves if we think another government solution is going to fix the problem."
Rep.
"With
Rep.
Rep.
"I've been here four years and we've kicked the barrel down the road," he said. "Everything I hear is, this is an
After defeating Kingsley's motion, the committee voted 7-5 to send the bill to the House floor with a favorable recommendation.
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Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.
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