About 35,000 Idaho residents have signed up for Medicaid under expanded coverage in the first few days it has been offered.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare started taking applications Friday, and says those who have signed up total more than a third of the estimated 91,000 people who are eligible.
Idaho voters authorized Medicaid expansion last year with an initiative that passed with 61 percent of the statewide vote, but Republican lawmakers earlier this year added restrictions requiring five waivers. Federal officials have yet to approve any of the waivers, which include work requirements, but enrollment is proceeding with coverage starting January 1st.
The expansion provides Medicaid to people earning up to a maximum of 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That maximum is about $17.000 a year for one person, and $35,500 for a family of four. (AP)
