Category Archives: State Laws & Policies
Now what? Otter advisory panel recommends state-run health insurance exchange
Gov. Butch Otter has received his recommendation: Build a state-based health insurance exchange. But how it would be built and how it would be funded remain unclear. And the governor’s health care exchange task force is an advisory committee only; … Continue reading
Candidates weigh in on liquor sales, ‘sin’ taxes, online sales tax and the personal property tax
Note: This is the third of a three-part series on responses to a survey sent to general election candidates. On Tuesday, the series looked at education-related issues including Propositions 1, 2 and 3 and funding for K-12 and higher education. … Continue reading
Health insurance attorney, Idaho senator clash over defining ‘nonprofit’ health care exchange
The legislative task force looking into whether or not to set up a state health exchange and how to deal with Medicaid in Idaho met on Monday and the most intriguing presentation came concerning the state setting up a nonprofit … Continue reading
Research says public sector pay, benefits better than what is available in private sector
New research compiled by economists David Macpherson (Trinity University) and William Even (Miami University) shows that after accounting for variations in the makeup of the workforce, public employees nationwide and in Idaho enjoy a pay and benefit package that noticeably … Continue reading
Guess what? Idahoans subsidize rural phone service under provision in Idaho Code
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved an increase effective Oct. 1 in the surcharge that subsidizes the high cost of rural telephone service. What? You did not know that you are helping to pay for rural phone service. … Continue reading
Medicaid: Governor’s panel says Idahoans skeptical of expanding the program
The proposed federal expansion of Medicaid in Idaho is still fraught with uncertainty regarding its costs, potential participants and details of implementation, according to the members of Gov. Butch Otter’s working group, which met on Thursday. Participants spent the day … Continue reading
Analysis: Medicaid expansion would be costly mistake for Idahoans
The federally proposed Medicaid expansion would be a costly mistake, both for Idaho taxpayers and for the state’s indigent population, according to an analysis released Thursday by Parrish Miller, a policy analyst for the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Rather than establishing … Continue reading
DHW projection: Obamacare will add to Medicaid rolls even without expansion
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, as a consequence of its health insurance mandate, will push as many as 12,000 Idahoans onto Medicaid at a cost to taxpayers of more than $31 million next … Continue reading
Insurance exchange options hold uncertainty about state control, costs
Amid the nuts and bolts of what it might take to set up an Idaho health insurance exchange, questions of unknown costs and state sovereignty continue to arise. Tuesday’s meeting of Gov. Butch Otter’s health insurance exchange working group focused … Continue reading
Idaho officials expect costs to soar from proposed Medicaid expansion
The Idaho Legislature’s health care task force spent most of its meeting on Monday considering potential ways to save money in the state’s Medicaid program and its array of other indigent care services, particularly if Idaho saddles itself with the … Continue reading