Idaho Republican state lawmakers have introduced a bill to repeal Medicaid expansion, the Idaho Capital Sun reported March 9.
Four things to know:
1. The proposed legislation would repeal Medicaid expansion on Jan. 1, 2028, removing about 90,000 Idaho residents from coverage according to the report.
2. Idaho voters in 2018 approved Medicaid expansion with nearly 61% of the vote. The expansion took effect in 2020.
3. Previous expansion repeal efforts have stalled in the state legislature, but this year lawmakers are seeking deeper government spending cuts, including to Medicaid disability services, according to the report. Idaho Rep. Jordan Redman proposed the bill as an alternative to cutting Medicaid disability services.
4. The legislation is receiving pushback from groups such as Idaho Voices for Children, according to the report. The group’s policy director, Hillarie Matlock, said the bill would “rip healthcare away from 90,000 Idahoans who rely on Medicaid expansion and have no other option for coverage.” She said that Idaho voters approved expansion and that “taking coverage away goes directly against the will of the voters.”
