Medicaid expansion moves closer to November ballot

July 06--Supporters of the Idaho Medicaid expansion ballot initiative plan to deliver thousands of petitions to Secretary of State Lawerence Denney in Boise today.

The deadline for gathering petition signatures was May 1. Since then, local county clerk offices around the state have been verifying that the signatures came from registered voters.

Now the petitions go to Denney's office, which has 15 days to certify the initiative for the November ballot. To qualify, supporters had to collect at least 56,192 signatures overall, including signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in at least 18 of the state's 35 legislative districts.

"We have our own internal review process, so we're very confident we meet the requirements," said Emily Strizich of Moscow, who began the initiative drive with her husband, Garrett, and family friend Luke Mayville of Sandpoint.

Mayville made a brief stop in Lewiston on Thursday to meet with some of the hundreds of volunteers who helped collect signatures during the petition drive. He said their efforts will continue to be critical as the campaign works to educate voters and line up support prior to the November general election.

"The key message everywhere we're going is that this is extremely popular," he said. "The vast majority of independents and Democrats, as well as 53 percent of Republicans, say they're willing to vote yes."

If approved, the initiative would expand Medicaid eligibility to include adults younger than the age of 65 who earn less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Doing so would provide access to preventative health care services for the estimated 51,000 to 62,000 Idahoans who fall into the "Medicaid gap," meaning they earn too much to qualify under the existing Medicaid criteria, while earning too little to qualify for subsidized health insurance through the state exchange.

Even if the initiative is approved, though, the Idaho Legislature could block the effort. Unlike Washington, which requires lawmakers to wait two years before amending any law passed through an initiative, there is no waiting period in Idaho.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paulette Jordan is a strong supporter of the Medicaid initiative, and Republican candidate Brad Little has previously said he would respect the will of the voters on this issue.

Delegates at the recent GOP state convention, by contrast, passed resolutions opposing the initiative, while favoring the creation of nonprofit health clinics to address the health care needs of the uninsured.

Strizich, who knocked on thousands of doors during the petition drive, said the idea that charitable contributions can resolve this issue is "ludicrous."

"I talked to countless Idahoans who set up (online) GoFundMe accounts," she said. "These are desperate people with life-threatening illnesses, and they're raising maybe $100. That doesn't pay for cancer treatment."

Moreover, Idahoans are already paying for Medicaid expansion through their federal taxes, Strizich said. The only difference is that the money is going to people in other states.

"People want their tax dollars to come back (to Idaho) and support their neighbors," she said.

Strizich and state Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, have been named co-chairwomen of the Idahoans for Healthcare coalition, which will shepherd the initiative through the general election.

Strizich said the issue is "such an easy sell," all it will really take is enough manpower to get out and talk to voters -- plus lawmakers who actually respect the will of the people.

"The job of a senator or representative is to represent their constituents," Strizich said. "They work for us. Imagine someone going to a job interview and telling the employer, 'I'll take your money, but I'm not going to do what you want.' That to me is unconscionable."

Mayville said Medicaid expansion "could be the biggest step forward for the health of working people in Idaho in 50 years."

However, he also suggested that was just a start.

"It's not good enough to just close the Medicaid gap," he said. "We need to fix the broken legislative system that allowed the gap to exist. We have a real opportunity with this election to put forth a different vision of government -- one that meets our basic needs." -- Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

___

(c)2018 the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)

Visit the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) at www.lmtribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.