The Idaho Senate has sent to Governor Brad Little Medicaid expansion legislation after passing a compromise bill on Friday.
The Senate voted 19-16 on the measure that was amended in the House to remove able-bodied people from coverage who don’t meet work requirements. The previous Senate version allowed those people to retain Medicaid coverage but required a copay to receive medical care.
In November, 61 percent of Idaho voters passed an initiative authorizing Medicaid expansion without work requirements. The expansion will provide access to preventative health care services for an estimated 91,000 low-income residents, and the federal government would cover 90 percent of the estimated cost.
Idaho will have to get a waiver from the federal government to implement the work requirement. The state would also need a waiver that would allow people to stay on Idaho’s health insurance exchange rather than receive Medicaid. It’s not clear that the federal government will grant the waivers.
The bill includes language that Medicaid expansion will continue in Idaho if the waivers don’t happen.
Opponents noted that the work requirement and allowing people to stay on the state’s health insurance could trigger lawsuits. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., recently threw out similar work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky. (AP)
