Latest news with #IdahoLegislature
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
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Federal judge extends block on Idaho gender-affirming care ban in prisons
Protestors on April 2, 2024, dropped 48,000 handmade hearts — meant to represent LGBTQ Idahoans, in protest of anti-LGBTQ legislation — down the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) A federal judge extended a temporary legal block, preventing Idaho from enforcing a new law that would block people in prisons from accessing state-funded gender-affirming health care. Judge David Nye last week extended a preliminary injunction blocking Idaho from enforcing the 2024 state law for all people in Idaho prisons diagnosed with gender dysphoria and receiving hormone therapy. The Idaho Legislature in 2024 passed the law through House Bill 668. Nye has blocked the law from being enforced against people in Idaho prisons in response to a lawsuit brought by ACLU of Idaho. Around 60 to 70 patients in Idaho Department of Correction custody have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to documents released in the lawsuit last year. Idaho's law 'clearly violates Idahoans' Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by denying access to standard, life-saving health care,' ACLU of Idaho Legal Director Paul Southwick told the Idaho Capital Sun in a statement. 'Everyone deserves bodily autonomy and access to necessary medical care, regardless of their gender or incarceration status.' The judicial blocks only last 90 days under limits by federal law. Boise State Public Radio first reported on the extended legal block. The Idaho Attorney General's Office could not be immediately reached for comment. Separately, a federal judge recently blocked federal prisons from enforcing an executive order by President Donald Trump that would've blocked gender-affirming care for people incarcerated in federal prison who have gender dysphoria, Bloomberg Law reported. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Robison et al. v. Labrador prelminary injunction ruling 6-2-25
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
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Idaho Medicaid to be privately managed in 2029, health officials officials expect
The state flags hangs from the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho health officials say it'll take years to switch all Idaho Medicaid benefits to being managed by private companies. Through a sweeping bill meant to cut Medicaid costs, the Idaho Legislature this year directed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to change a range of Medicaid policies — including to pursue switching Medicaid benefits to being run by private companies. That model, called managed care, is used widely across the country. Right now, Idaho Medicaid already uses managed care — somewhat. But it's more of a patchwork approach, where some services are managed by the state health department, some by managed care organizations, and some by doctors' offices. Shifting Idaho Medicaid to managed care will take time to do well, Idaho Medicaid Deputy Director Juliet Charron told a panel of state lawmakers late last month. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare expects the new comprehensive Idaho Medicaid managed care contract to start in 2029, following years of prep work, she told the Idaho Legislature's Medicaid Review Panel on May 22. 'We have been evaluating all of the different scenarios and timelines under which we could implement this — looking at it as early as 2027 or 2028 — and have determined' that going much earlier is risky, Charron said. 'Because you're going to start to have pieces overlapping throughout this. And that will be particularly challenging for our provider communities.' Medicaid is a largely federally funded health care assistance program that covers about 260,000 Idahoans, including low-income earners, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and some older people. Roughly 92,000 Idahoans are enrolled in Medicaid expansion, a voter-approved policy that raised the income eligibility cap. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Idaho governor signs bill to privatize management, add work requirements to Medicaid program The new Idaho Medicaid cost cutting bill also called for Idaho to seek federal approval for Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied adults. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare plans to apply for that by July 2026. The federal spending and tax cut bill being considered by Congress might ease the process for Idaho to seek Medicaid work requirements. Instead of applying for a Medicaid waiver that could temporarily allow for work requirements, Idaho could seek a longer-lasting state plan amendment for Medicaid work requirements — if the federal bill becomes law, Charron said. (The bill would require nationwide Medicaid work requirements years later. After passing the U.S. House, it heads to the Senate, where changes are expected.) Other states' experiences and a federal watchdog report suggest costs for Medicaid work requirements are high, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Since almost half of Idahoans on Medicaid are already working, some advocates say work requirements are effectively just expensive administrative barriers to access the program. Overall, only 6% of Idaho Medicaid enrollees are in comprehensive managed care — the roughly 27,000 Idahoans dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, Idaho Idaho Medicaid Deputy Administrator Sasha O'Connell told the legislative panel. CONTACT US Idaho's existing Medicaid managed care contracts mostly carve out private management for certain benefits, like mental health, medical transportation and dental. That split makes it complicated for the state to oversee, O'Connell said. 'What this has led to is we have particularly high turnover, I would say, in state agencies. And I think that that happens in Medicaid as well,' she said. The various contracts have put Idaho Medicaid's limited staff in a cycle of 'amending these contracts constantly,' she said, instead of putting the contracts up for a new competitive bid, a process called procurement. 'Because procurement is such a huge lift,' O'Connell said. Idaho is also on track to end doctors' offices managing Medicaid benefits next year, Charron told lawmakers. The new Idaho Medicaid cost cutting bill called for the end of that model, called value-based care, which is unique to Idaho and has existed for a few years. The new Idaho Medicaid managed care contract is likely to become the biggest contract given out by the state of Idaho. Idaho's contract for the company Magellan to run mental health Medicaid benefits is already the state's largest contract, initially pegged at $1.4 billion over four years. Like under Idaho Medicaid's first managed care mental health organization, Idaho Medicaid providers have reported payment delays from Magellan, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, raised that issue to Idaho health officials. 'You're saying, I'm getting reports back from the (managed care organization), and they're saying, 'Everything is great. All of our providers are happy. They're loving it,'' Cook said. ''That's like asking the fox, … 'How's the hen house?'' Idaho's existing managed care contracts will be phased out for the broader contract to come. Idaho Medicaid mental health contractor hires three state government employees 'Idaho is a very large state. But our health care infrastructure is somewhat limited. And people access health care all over the state. Frequently, we are sending Medicaid participants to different parts of the state, based on the service that they need,' Charron said. The new contract will task three different managed care organizations to run Idaho Medicaid benefits, for a few reasons, she explained, like: Federal requirements for Medicaid enrollees to have choice under managed care; Creating competition between companies to drive efficiencies; and Redundancy, in case a plan terminates. Before Idaho launches the new managed care contract, Idaho has a lot of preparation to do, state health officials say. Like engaging stakeholders, seeking out more information and contracting out for actuarial services, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), a new enrollment broker for Medicaid enrollees to pick managed care plans, and Idaho Medicaid's information system. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital CEO says Idaho Legislature not doing enough to support medical workforce
Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, at left, and Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, speak during the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on May 19, 2025, at the College of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) IDAHO FALLS – Two health care professionals told members of the Idaho Legislature's budget committee Monday that they are not doing enough to produce the medical workforce the state needs and that doctors are leaving the state due to its strict abortion ban. The comments came during the Idaho Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee's first day of spring meetings Monday in Idaho Falls. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC for short, is a powerful legislative committee that sets the budgets for every state agency and department. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The medical workforce debate started during a workforce panel discussion at the College of Eastern Idaho after Rep. James Petzke, R-Meridian, asked the panelists if the Idaho Legislature was doing enough to develop the kind of modern workforce Idaho employers and industries need. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center CEO Betsy Hunsicker didn't sugar-coat her answer. She immediately told Petzke the short answer is 'no.' 'It's very challenging, and we don't have OB-GYN coming in here,' Hunsicker said. 'We're not training general surgeons. We're not. Physicians generally practice where they train. So I think the training piece for residency for physicians is really probably something that needs to continue to grow.' Hunsicker and other panelists asked legislators to support two programs to help develop the state's workforce – medical residency programs and the Idaho Launch workforce training initiative championed by Gov. Brad Little. The discussion and the tension ratcheted up during a presentation later Monday given by Dr. Jennifer Cook, the OB fellowship director and associate director of the family medicine residency program at Full Circle Health in Boise. Cook was giving an overview of health education programs and talking about ways to bring more doctors to Idaho. Cook said huge swaths of Idaho are considered maternal care deserts, and the state ranks near the bottom nationally when it comes to physicians-per-capita. In addition to supporting incentives like loan repayment programs and investing in medical residencies and fellowships, Cook told legislators they could attract more doctors if they clarified the state's near total abortion ban to include the health of the pregnant mother – not just the life of the pregnant mother. 'Because right now, physicians are kind of scared to practice here, I'm not going to lie,' Cook told JFAC members. 'Because there's so much ambiguity – and I don't think that was intentional in any way, shape or form. I think people are trying to support their constituents – but it has led us to this gray area where we don't know what management is actually allowable, and that's really hard.' Cook said that ambiguity has real consequences. 'I had fellows who sat and watched a woman who was 19 weeks pregnant bleed and couldn't do anything about it, and just waited until she was so sick she was about to die,' Cook said. 'If that was your family, it would be really scary.' While she was talking, Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, turned to his neighbor, Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, and said, 'that's not true.' Moments later, Cook briefly paused her presentation to JFAC members. 'I can see some eyes rolling,' Cook said. 'I can see you all rolling your eyes.' Cook then continued her presentation. When she fielded questions after her presentation, Rep. Steven Miller, R-Fairfield, and Tanner told Cook that they feel Idaho's abortion law is clear. Tanner told Cook he thinks the discussion is political. He said his conservative doctor friends tell him the law is clear, while people who lean left are 'going nuts' over the abortion law. In an interview with the Idaho Capital Sun after Cook's presentation, Tanner said the life of the unborn baby gets lost in the debate. 'The problem that I see that they run into is they're only looking at the aspect of the mom, keeping that person alive, and not the actual baby,' Tanner told the Sun. Tanner also referenced the University of Washington's Washington, Wyoming Alaska, Montana and Idaho, or WWAMI, medical program. 'Part of the problem, in my opinion, I think overall is where you look at the training aspect that they actually go through,' Tanner told the Sum. 'So when they're going through the WWAMI they're going through up in Washington, and some of the actual classes and how most of the doctors that I talked to have come out like they're fully like, 'Abortion is no different than needing stitches. It's no different than anything.' And I think they dehumanized that child at that point in time.' However, the University of Washington has said it does not use Idaho funds to teach courses related to abortion care, according to the Spokesman-Review. At a legislative hearing during the 2025 session, UW School of Medicine Vice Dean Suzanne Allen said the school would agree to Idaho's abortion laws and stipulations, according to the Spokesman-Review. 'The University of Washington does not spend any Idaho funds on abortion care or abortion training,' she said. In a statement regarding House Bill 176, which sought to defund Idaho WWAMI, UW said it was disheartened to see the Legislature discuss dissolving a more than 50-year partnership. 'The Idaho WWAMI partnership is required to teach the same content to our students that other medical schools are required to teach across the country to pass the national licensing exam,' the university stated. 'This includes women's health content such as normal labor and delivery as well as complications including miscarriages that require abortion procedures.' Although the Idaho Legislature adjourned April 4 and is not in session, JFAC often conducts interim meetings during the fall and spring to continue monitoring the state budget and take a closer look at agencies and programs that receive state funding. This is not the first time JFAC members have been told that the Idaho Legislature's abortion ban has made it harder to attract and retain physicians. During a different JFAC interim tour on Nov. 21, 2024, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine President Tracy Farnsworth told legislators the abortion ban has run off existing physicians and may be scaring away new ones. 'Many of you probably know this, with our current Idaho state abortion laws that provide very little, if any, opportunity to terminate a pregnancy for health because we don't have a health of the mother exception, we've lost roughly 25% of our OB-GYN,' Farnsworth said in November. 'We've gone from 200 to 150 OB-GYN, and we are hearing anecdotal evidence of a number of graduating OB-GYN residency students choosing not to come to Idaho because of fear of losing their license and (being) criminalized,' Farnsworth added. JFAC members did not vote on any budgets or any bills on Monday. JFAC's spring meetings continue Tuesday with a tour of community resource centers and the Idaho Department of Water Resources' Eastern Regional Office. JFAC's meetings are scheduled to conclude Wednesday with a tour of Idaho National Laboratory facilities. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Idaho legislative committee aims to identify barriers – and solutions
The Idaho Legislatures Land Use and Housing Study Committee conducts its first meeting May 14 at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Legislature's Interim Land Use and Housing Study Committee began discussing housing inventory, prices, building codes, permitting and zoning at its first meeting held Wednesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, pushed for the creation of the housing study committee during the recent 2025 legislative session by co-sponsoring Senate Concurrent Resolution 103. 'Housing is one of the most important topics Idahoans across the state recognized as something they want to see addressed,' Rabe said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The purpose of the committee is to undertake a study of state and local land use regulations and how they impact the housing supply. In addition to the study, the committee can make recommendations to the Idaho Legislature during the 2026 legislative session. Committee members did not make any recommendations on Wednesday. Instead, members received briefings on affordable housing issues in the Gem State. The committee identified some of the barriers and problems, including high costs of mortgages and rent, a low inventory of housing that doesn't meet demand, vacation homes and short-term rentals, infrastructure needs like water and sewer, emergency services and more. CONTACT US Committee may discuss economic incentives, zoning changes or streamlining permits as potential solutions to Idaho's housing affordability crisis [/subhed] Without affordable housing available, more Idahoans are living on public lands, living in unsafe spaces that aren't designed to be homes or moving elsewhere, housing and development experts told the committee Wednesday. Without getting into specific proposals, committee members began discussing potential solutions to discuss at future meetings, including economic and tax incentives, streamlining approval and permitting processes, zoning or density changes, infrastructure upgrades and the potential use of a local option tax or resort tax to incentivize housing construction. After adjourning Wednesday, the housing study committee plans to meet three more times around the state before the 2026 legislative session begins in January. Future meeting dates include June 27 in Idaho Falls, Aug. 14 in Sandpoint and Sept. 26 in Boise. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, committee co-chair Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene, co-chair Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d'Alene Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise Ad hoc (non legislative) members of the Land Use and Housing Study Committee Jason Blais, City of Boise Bobbi Jo Meuleman, Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Ken Burgess, Idaho Home N=Builders Association Max Pond, Idaho REALTORS Star Mayor Trevor Chadwick, Association of Idaho Cities Caleb Roope, Pacific Co. Andy Erstad, American Institute of Architects Sean Schupack, Idaho Association of General Contractors Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm Jonathan Spendlove, American Planning Association Jerri Henry, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Valley County Commissioner Sherry Maupin, Idaho Association of Counties SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
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Idaho is telling health insurers to prepare for new enhanced breast cancer screening law
Reps. John Shirts, left, Jaron Crane and Brooke Green share a smile as legislators shave their heads March 25, 2025, to support Green's battle against breast cancer. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) Months before a new Idaho law will require health insurance companies to expand breast cancer screening coverage, the Idaho Department of Insurance is guiding insurers on how to prepare. The Idaho Legislature widely approved the new law through House Bill 134 this year. But the law doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, 2026. The new law will require health insurance companies to cover supplemental breast cancer screening when abnormalities aren't found or suspected in the breast of people who are at high risk. 'Early detection saves lives, and I'm thrilled to have helped pass this impactful legislation that will make life-saving care more affordable and accessible for so many Idaho women at high risk for breast cancer,' Rep. Brooke Green, a Boise Democrat who sponsored the bipartisan-backed legislation while she battles breast cancer, said in a written statement. Days after her first breast cancer diagnosis, Green's radiologist brought the issue to her attention, she previously told the Sun. In a show of solidarity, several Idaho lawmakers shaved their heads in late March, as Green prepared to start chemotherapy. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Under the bill, people will be considered at high risk for breast cancer due to personal or family history, genetic predisposition or other factors. Supplemental breast cancer screening required to be covered by the bill includes magnetic resonance imaging, or an MRI. Idaho legislators shave heads to support colleague, raise awareness for breast cancer screening According to a news release last week by the Idaho Department of Insurance, the new law requires health insurance plans cover 'all costs associated with one supplemental breast cancer screening every year' for people covered by their health insurance plans who have a high risk of breast cancer. Here's how that will work: That screening 'must be covered with no patient cost-sharing,' which includes deductibles, copayments or coinsurance, if it is provided by in-network health care providers, the Idaho Department of Insurance says. Additional costs can be charged for services from out-of-network providers. For other breast imaging services that go beyond the new law's minimum service requirements, such as diagnostic imaging or supplemental screenings conducted more than once a year, the health insurance plan's patient cost-sharing rules can apply, the insurance department says. Idaho health insurance companies must update their plan documents and notify members about the new benefits, according to new guidance to insurers from the Idaho Department of Insurance. 'Consumers should contact their insurer with any questions, or contact our department if they experience coverage issues,' Idaho Department of Insurance Market Oversight Bureau Chief Shannon Hohl said in a written statement. 'Our consumer affairs team is available to help with insurance questions and concerns.' In a written statement, Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron thanked the Legislature and several lawmakers for supporting the bill, saying it will 'help Idahoans access the critical preventive services they need.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
