Summary:
Current Status of Medicaid Expansion in State:
State is Studying Options, leaning "no."
Decision Process:
Governor Otter and the state legislature will make the decision for whether or not Idaho participates in the Expansion.
Background:
· Currently:
15% of Idaho residents are enrolled in Medicaid. 88% of beneficiaries have managed care. Coverage is as high as 185% of FPL depending on the specific program of enrollment. The Department of Health and Welfare oversees the state's Medicaid program.
· Expansion:
The expansion would be a 39% increase over current enrollment.
· Process:
The governor appointed a working group to study whether or not Idaho should implement the ACA. The group has determined that Idaho should expand its Medicaid program to best serve low-income individuals and save money. The state awaits decision by Governor Otter and the legislature.
State Activity:
· Idaho was one of the states that sued the federal government for the repeal of the ACA, but general feeling is that the needs of the state come before partisan politics. Governor Otter has said that it does not make sense to expand on a broken program and he does not support an expansion. A final decision will be made by 2014.
· The state has sought input from consultant and a 15-person working group (representing public and private sectors).
· The state has conducted studies on EHB benchmarks that comply with HHS requirements.
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