OPINION: Passage of Prop 2 will save Idaho lives

Oct. 29--No brag, just fact.

Proposition 2 on the Nov. 6 Idaho ballot has the potential to save lives by extending affordable health care coverage to thousands of adults.

It is estimated more than 62,000 Idahoans fall into the so-called insurance gap: They make too much money to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to qualify for Affordable Care Act subsidized health insurance.

Proposition 2 would clear the way for Medicaid expansion and allow those 62,000 to be covered by the state-federal partnership. More than half the states have already signed on to the improved program and Idaho should too.

Those folks in the gap have little choice when it comes to health care. They can ignore the problem; treat it with over-the-counter methods; or they can use local emergency rooms as a primary care provider. The latter option is often a last resort when illness or injury has progressed well beyond the time for a proper medical visit.

And rarely do those without coverage seek preventative care and that's a travesty that sits squarely in the lap of a legislature that for years failed to solve the state's health care problem.

Currently, the state has millions of tax dollars in a catastrophic insurance program, which is used for indigent funding. Counties also have funds -- Latah County has more than $500,000 dedicated to such health care.

None of it is sufficient to cover the health care expenses of those in the gap.

Hospitals and other medical organizations often end up eating those costs. Gritman Medical Center is no exception. In 2017, the hospital wrote off $5.1 million in charity and bad debt cases.

Medicaid expansion would significantly reduce the amount spent on indigent care and allow the county and Gritman to allocate those funds for other purposes.

The expansion would also return millions of Idaho tax dollars as a result of the federal government's paying 90 percent of the cost. With other reductions, the expansion would cost Idahoans considerably less than the programs in place.

The people in the gap are our friends and neighbors. Can you look them in the eye and say: "We don't care enough about you to pass Prop. 2. I've got mine. You're on your own."

If you can't, do what our elected officials have failed to do -- support affordable health care. Say "Yes" to Prop. 2.

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