Idaho Lawmakers Fail To Vote On Medicaid Expansion, Opt For New Studies Instead
The legislature does not finalize an expansion proposal as it nears adjournment. In other news, KHN examines Indiana's novel Medicaid expansion.
The Associated Press:
Medicaid Expansion Fails In Idaho, Smaller Efforts Proposed
Idaho lawmakers have failed to finalize a proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility that would appease the Republican supermajority in the waning days of the legislative session. Instead, two minor proposals were approved Wednesday by the House to devote more resources to studying the so-called Medicaid gap population. (Kruesi, 3/22)
Kaiser Health News:
In Conservative Indiana, Medicaid Expansion Makes Poorest Pay
Reginald Rogers owes his dentist a debt of gratitude for his new dentures, but no money. Indiana’s Medicaid program has them covered, a godsend for the almost toothless former steelworker who hasn’t held a steady job for years and lives in his daughter’s basement. “I just need to get my smile back,” Rogers, 59, told his dentist at a clinic here recently. “I can’t get a job unless I can smile.” Rogers is among the more than 240,000 low-income people who gained health coverage in the past year when Indiana expanded Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. Rogers pays $1 a month -- a fee that is a hallmark of the state’s controversial plan. (Galewitz, 3/24)