Medicaid initiative edges closer to November ballot

Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID)

May 01--Reclaim Idaho announced Monday that volunteers have collected more than enough signatures for a Medicaid expansion initiative to qualify for the November ballot.

If the signatures check out, the move gives voters a chance to sidestep the Legislature and extend Medicaid eligibility to an estimated 51,000 to 62,000 Idahoans who currently earn too much to qualify for the program and too little to qualify for federal health insurance subsidies.

Reclaim Idaho spokeswoman Sam Sandmire said the group expects to turn in more than 60,000 valid signatures today. That's about 10 percent more than the 56,192 signatures needed to officially qualify.

The group also met the geographic distribution requirement, she said. Volunteers gathered signatures from at least 6 percent of registered voters in 20 of Idaho's 35 legislative districts -- two more than required by state law.

"All notarized petitions have to be turned in to the various county clerk offices by 5 p.m. (today)," Sandmire said. "The clerks have 60 days to verify the signatures. On July 6, we'll turn them in to the secretary of state (for his) stamp of approval."

Reclaim Idaho did its own verification as the petition drive went along, so it doesn't anticipate many signatures being disqualified.

For Moscow family physician Dan Schmidt, the initiative effort has been a kind of tonic.

"It's always hard for me to say, 'Hey, we can win,' " Schmidt said. "To watch this process over the last six, eight months has really given me a shot in the arm. It has helped restore my faith in grass-roots efforts."

Two years ago Schmidt -- then a state senator representing the 5th Legislative District -- gave up his taxpayer-funded state health insurance, which was valued at more than $11,000 per year. He hoped the move would prod the Legislature to at least consider options for helping the state's Medicaid gap population.

"It's not fair that I get this benefit and the Legislature doesn't give it to Idahoans who can't afford it," he said at the time. "If you're in a situation that isn't fair, you work to change it or you get out. I'm trying to nudge folks to feel a sense of urgency about this and do the right thing."

Schmidt's gesture had little immediate effect; lawmakers failed to take up the issue that session, or in 2017. They followed a similar course earlier this year when the House refused -- twice -- to even debate an alternative proposal that would have extended health insurance to about half the gap population.

However, Schmidt's gesture did catch the eye of Emily and Garrett Strizich of Moscow, who co-founded Reclaim Idaho with Luke Mayville, Garrett's childhood friend.

"It certainly inspired us to want to work with him," Emily Strizich said Monday. "He pointed out the hypocrisy of legislators who receive government-sponsored health care while railing against providing government-sponsored health care for the people who need it most."

The wording of the initiative petition -- which calls for expanding Medicaid eligibility to all adults younger than 65 who earn less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level -- actually came from a bill Schmidt introduced in 2016.

"I first met with (the Reclaim Idaho co-founders) last summer," Schmidt recalled. "At that point they were talking about starting an initiative. I didn't think they could do it; it's just really tough. But they had a vision."

He met with them again last fall to discuss the language on the petition. He still didn't think they had a chance, but after the petition drive began in January, he began gathering signatures.

Working with other volunteers, Schmidt hit Latah County, Coeur d'Alene, Orofino and Lewiston, gathering signatures in four legislative districts -- including the largely rural, conservative 7th District, which stretches from Sandpoint down to Riggins.

"I'm amazed that district qualified," he said. "In late January I was talking to someone in Grangeville who said they collected 700 signatures. You have to be kidding me. That was just a little less than we had in Moscow."

Former state Sen. Ron Beitelspacher served as a county coordinator for the district, along with retired Syringa Hospital CEO Joe Cladouhos.

"I got involved last October after reading that someone took the petition language to the secretary of state's office (for approval)," Beitelspacher said Monday. "I got on the phone to find out who was behind it."

Like Schmidt, he thought it would be difficult for the initiative to meet all the requirements -- and he had little hope that District 7 would qualify.

"Of all the districts that could qualify, I figured District 7 and District 8 (which stretches from Emmett across the Continental Divide to Salmon) would be the last two," Beitelspacher said. "They're so spread out, and there's no big place to gather signatures. But we had volunteers come out of the woodwork."

Emily Strizich said it's thrilling to see all the hard work come to fruition, but qualifying for the ballot is just the beginning. The next phase includes an extensive voter education effort to ensure that the initiative actually passes.

"We had a party (Sunday) night for a lot of Latah County volunteers," she said. "I expected them all to be exhausted, but everyone said they're ready to keep going. It's incredible to see people putting people over politics."

Schmidt said when he gave up his insurance two years ago, "my goal was to inspire the Legislature to at least consider this issue. I was looking to change the Legislature -- but there are other ways to enact change as well." -- Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

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