The Idaho Attorney General’s office flagged a handful of concerns while vetting a proposal seeking to expand Medicaid coverage through a ballot initiative rather than through the state’s Legislature.
According to the AG’s analysis, the initiative contains language requiring the state to implement Medicaid expansion immediately if the proposal is approved – otherwise known as an emergency clause. However, officials say emergency clauses only apply to legislation approved by the Idaho Legislature, not through a ballot initiative.
The AG also raised concerns about the ballot’s promise to end Medicaid expansion coverage in Idaho if the federal government ever stops paying for the majority of the extra costs of the expanded program. Under the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. government pays at least 90 percent of the cost of expanding Medicaid while states picked up the rest.
Ballot initiatives in Idaho must be reviewed by the Attorney General’s office before supporters can collect signatures to get them on the 2018 November ballot, but organizers are not required to adopt the AG’s recommendations.
Reclaim Idaho, a group leading the ballot initiative effort, submitted the proposal to the secretary of state’s office last month. The group now needs at least 48-thousand signatures from registered voters to make the ballot. AP)
