Drama in the Senate today, as pressure mounts to consider ‘Healthy Idaho’ plan
There’s drama in the Senate today, as Senate Democrats were preparing to attempt to call SB 1205, the “Healthy Idaho” plan, out of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, where it had a hearing on Feb. 2, but never came up for a vote. As the order of business in which Democrats could make that move today approached, the Senate abruptly went at ease and Republicans went into a lengthy closed-door caucus. Then, when they emerged and the Senate reconvened, Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis asked unanimous consent to move to the 14th order of business – the amending order – skipping the 13th order, the order in which bills are debated and passed and the order in which the bill could be called from committee.
Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, objected. So Davis made a motion to move to that order of business, and it passed on a 28-7 party-line vote. Schmidt invoked a rule of the Senate that allows a senator to call a pause in a roll call to take 60 seconds to explain his vote. “Sixty seconds to explain why we’re not doing what we should be doing,” Schmidt said, pausing with emotion. “This senator votes no.”
In the gallery above, a group of Idaho religious leaders, including the pastor of the Cathedral of the Rockies, the dean of St. Michael’s Episcopal Cathedral, and the pastor of Boise’s First Presbyterian Church watched; they met with legislative leaders this morning to deliver a letter backing action to close Idaho’s health care coverage “gap,” in which 78,000 Idahoans make too little to qualify for subsidized health insurance through the state insurance exchange, but too much to qualify for the state’s limited Medicaid program. SB 1205 would accept federal Medicaid expansion funds to cover some low-income Idaho adults, while using the rest to purchase private insurance for those who fall into the gap.
The letter from the Interfaith Alliance of Idaho said, “Though diverse, our faiths all teach us to care for those in need – for the sick, the impoverished, the widowed, and the abandoned. … In the first year alone, the Healthy Idaho Plan will save hundreds of lives, and most importantly, it will alleviate suffering and enhance the quality of life in our state.”
After amending some legislation in the 14th Order, the Senate then went at ease again. After a bit, it recessed until 3 p.m.
