Eye on Boise: ‘Add the Words’ bill gets hearing Monday

The Idaho Legislature will hold a full hearing on an “Add the Words” bill starting Monday morning at 8 in the Lincoln Auditorium, after nine years of refusing to do so.

The measure would add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act, to ban discrimination on those bases.

House State Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Loertscher has reserved the room for up to three days, saying he wants to let everyone be heard. Sign-in sheets for public testimony will be set out at 7:30 a.m. There will be two: one for people from out of town, and one for locals. Loertscher said he’ll call on those who’ve traveled from out of town first.

Last year, more than 100 silent protesters wearing black “Add the 4 Words” T-shirts were arrested at the state Capitol as they blocked doorways and entrances, standing with their hands over their mouths to symbolize that they hadn’t been heard on the issue.

Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, a co-sponsor of the bill, said it was gratifying to see introduction of the bill approved on a 6-1 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee. “I’m taking from the way this was handled that there is an increased recognition of the need to deal with this legislation in a serious and straightforward way,” he said. “I personally believe that a full and fair hearing will change minds.”

Lives saved

Idaho’s Suicide Prevention Hotline, to which the state has contributed $50,000 a year for three years as part of a public-private partnership, has likely saved at least 100 lives so far, according to state officials. The hotline, which now operates 24/7, has received 1,867 calls, including 100 rescue calls. Ross Edmunds, administrator of mental health services for the state Department of Health and Welfare, said rescue calls are “when an individual calls the hotline and says, ‘I’ve already taken an overdose of medication,’ ‘I’ve got a loaded gun in my lap.’ ”

Gov. Butch Otter’s budget proposal for next year includes continuing the $50,000 contribution.

Medicaid budget

Medicaid makes up more than 80 percent of the budget of the state Department of Health and Welfare, the state’s largest agency. It’s the state-federal program that covers health care for disabled and poor Idahoans. The federal government pays roughly 70 percent of Idaho’s Medicaid costs, but the feds’ share will drop slightly next year, due to Idaho’s improving economy (it’s dropping from 71.72 percent to 71.37 percent). That will mean an additional $7.1 million cost to Idaho’s general fund to pick up the slightly larger share.

“We are not seeing increases in utilization, which is wonderful news,” Lisa Hettinger, state Medicaid administrator, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. “What we do see is that we have a caseload increase.” While the number of people on Medicaid went up 6.3 percent this year, the cost per patient has been falling, she said. She attributed some of the savings to a new pilot program for “medical homes” for patients, which has enrolled more than 10,000 people, along with other reforms.

“One of the things that I think is commonly misunderstood and very important to my budget request is exactly who we are serving within the Division of Medicaid,” Hettinger said. “Ninety percent of the people served in Medicaid are children, disabled and the elderly – 90 percent.” Two percent are pregnant women, and 8 percent are healthy adults with children. Nondisabled adults without children currently don’t qualify for Medicaid in Idaho at all. “There are income limits for every category of individuals whom we serve,” Hettinger said, including the disabled and elderly.

The largest population that Medicaid covers, by far, is children – 74 percent – but they are also the lowest cost; highest costs are for seriously disabled and elderly people. “Seventy percent of the dollars that are spent in the Medicaid program are for 30 percent of the individuals,” Hettinger said. “So we have some very high payments for a small few.”

As for where the money goes, 96.7 percent of Idaho’s Medicaid budget goes to payments for health care services from providers. Just 3.3 percent goes for administration.