Monday’s morning’s House Health & Welfare Committee meeting, at which the new health coverage bill for Idaho’s “gap” population was scheduled to be introduced and sent on to the full House, has been canceled.

The following notice has been sent out to all committee members:

“There have been requests by multiple parties to change some of the language in RS 24790.  Because negotiations are ongoing, the Monday committee meeting has been cancelled. You will be kept posted regarding a possible Tuesday morning meeting.”

The panel had been scheduled to consider a compromise bill to provide coverage to the 78,000 Idahoans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to qualify for subsidized insurance through the state insurance exchange. As outlined Friday, the bill would direct the state Department of Health & Welfare to apply for a waiver from the federal Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services to accept some federal Medicaid expansion funds as a block grant, for use to provide a managed care, patient-centered-medical-home-based insurance coverage plan to Idahoans whose incomes fall below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. That’s short of the group full Medicaid expansion would serve, as it would go up to 138 percent.

If a waiver were approved, it still would have to come back to lawmakers before Idaho could start the new coverage program. If it were successful and lawmakers approved it, Idaho would eliminate its current medical indigency and catastrophic health care program, which spends millions in state tax funds each year to cover the catastrophic medical bills of people who can’t pay. The bill also envisioned grants to the state’s community health centers of $5 million a year for the next two years to gear up services and collect data on the gap population.

You can read the draft bill here.

In the committee last Thursday, Chairman Fred Wood, R-Burley, noted that negotiations on the bill still were ongoing and likely would be through the weekend. Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, a committee member who like Wood is a physician, said, “It’s very disappointing. And I had a conversation with the speaker this weekend who let me believe that there was a bill that the majority was going forward with, but that was Saturday. And Sunday’s different, I guess.” He added, “I can’t imagine what particular items are so important that people want to risk the development of a health plan for the gap population, for the 78,000. I just can’t imagine what it is that’s so important. But I don’t sit in their caucus.”  

House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said the delay “will give us tomorrow to get things sorted out.” Asked how optimistic he is about a health care plan for the gap population passing during this year’s legislative session – which lawmakers hope to wrap up within the coming week – Bedke said, “Personally I’m growing frustrated, but there’s still, obviously enough, there’s willingness to do something. They just can’t come together. I’m not very optimistic at this point.”

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