Idaho Supreme Court to hear arguments today regarding Medicaid expansion

Jan. 29--The Idaho Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday morning regarding the legality of Medicaid expansion, an initiative that passed on the November ballot with a 61 percent vote.

The higher court is hearing arguments today after the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative think-tank, challenged the proposition, calling it unconstitutional.

About 365,000 people in Idaho -- about 60.6 percent of those casting ballots -- voted in favor of Proposition 2. The proposition allows people who make less than 138 percent of poverty-level income to qualify for Medicaid health insurance coverage, even if they don't have children or a disability.

IFF board chairman Brent Regan -- the named plaintiff in the lawsuit -- and IFF say Medicaid expansion would cede too much authority to the federal government and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The state's highest attorney disagrees.

The Idaho Attorney General's Office previously said a lawsuit challenging Medicaid expansion lacks merit and is "frivolous, unreasonable and without foundation on several levels." Driving home its point, the AG's Office said the lawsuit is so meritless that IFF should have to pay the state's defense costs.

Since the Idaho legislative session began in January, lawmakers continue to discuss how they would fund the Medicaid expansion, but most seem committed to moving forward.

After being sworn-in, Gov. Brad Little vowed that he would commit to upholding to will of the voters and would support the expansion of Medicaid. But lawmakers have not decided yet how to fund Idaho's 10 percent share of expansion costs, nor have they decided whether to add work requirements or other conditions to health insurance coverage.

This story is breaking and will continue to be updated today.

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