BOISE, Idaho — Rep. John Vander Woude (R-Nampa) introduced House Bill 123 in the House Health and Welfare Committee along party-line support on Friday. The bill aims to repeal Idaho's Medicaid expansion program.
Rep. Vander Woude chairs the committee.
"I will normally vote to print almost any and every piece of legislation to open the discussion, but this one I cannot," Rep. Ilana Rubel said in committee. "[This is] undercutting what I thought was the fairly clear expressed will of the committee - that we not do this this year."
More than 100,000 low-income Idahoans receive healthcare coverage through the Medicaid expansion program. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) budgeted more than $1 billion to cover the expansion program in fiscal year 2023. The program originally expected to cost roughly $400 million annually, according to Rep. Vander Woude.
"I don't wanna leave people out in the cold with nothing, but in the same token, I'm uncomfortable leaving it to continue in this vain with that much spending," Rep. Vander Woude said. "I think that's why we need to look at it."
The program originally expected to spend $400 monthly per person, Rep. Vander Woude told KTVB. That per-person monthly figure is now roughly $800.
Rep. Vander Woude asked, "is this the best fiscal way to do it?"
Citizen political group Reclaim Idaho brought Medicaid expansion to the 2018 November ballot after earning enough statewide signatures.
The expansion program provides healthcare coverage for working people who do not qualify for other government programs, yet still cannot afford healthcare on their own either. The proposition passed by nearly 61%.
"It's hard to imagine what it would look like to go back to a time before Medicaid expansion," Reclaim Idaho co-founder and Director Luke Mayville said. "It's deeply irresponsible to even propose repealing Medicaid expansion. What it amounts to is politicians claiming they know better than the voters."
The original expansion annual cost projections - about $400 million - were based on the anticipation 62,000 people would qualify. The real number of people who actually qualify is more than 100,000, according to numbers from IDHW.
"If the voters of Idaho had known even more people needed health care, the program would have been even more popular," Mayville said.
The Federal Government covers 90% of Idaho's Medicaid expansion program costs. The subsidy saves Idaho taxpayers $77.7 million annually, according to the IDHW. However, the state's general fund pays roughly $68 million into Medicaid expansion.
This leaves the state with a net gain of about $10 million.
"It would actually cost money to repeal the program. It would be bad for taxpayers," Mayville said.
Rep. Vander Woude agreed repealing the program would cost money upfront; however, he questions the programs efficiency.
"The Federal Government is dumping in close to $800 million, and the state is only saving $10 million," Rep. Vander Woude said. "Is that a good return on spending taxpayer money? Cause federal dollars are still taxpayer money. Are we getting a decent enough return?”
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