Idaho Responds to CMS Administrator on State-Based Health Insurance Plans

BOISE, Idaho, March 9 -- Gov. C.L. 'Butch' Otter, R-Idaho, issued the following statement:

Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter Otter, Lieutenant Governor Brad Little and Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron issued the following statement today in response to Thursday's letter from the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma on Idaho's proposed state-based health insurance plans.

"Contrary to news media interpretations, the letter from CMS Administrator Verma was not a rejection of our approach to providing more affordable health insurance options for the people of Idaho.

"Her letter made it clear that Idaho's efforts to pursue innovative alternatives hold great promise, and we believe that Idaho's plan aligns with the State's responsibility for "substantially enforcing" Obamacare. In fact, we consider the letter an invitation from CMS to continue discussing the specifics of what can and cannot be included in state-based plans.

"We will consider all possible options and then continue discussions with CMS and HHS on how best to achieve our shared goals of reducing the costs of coverage and stabilizing our health insurance market."