House introduces bill to ask feds to reconsider 2019 Medicaid waivers

BOISE — In yet another effort to reform Medicaid, the Legislature will consider asking the federal government to reconsider previous requests to change its program that were previously either rejected or never acted upon.

The requests were made in 2019 and would have sought changes such as adding work requirements to Idaho’s Medicaid expansion participants and requiring referrals from primary care providers for family planning services, such as seeking birth control, abortion or pregnancy services.

The House joint resolution, if passed, would be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees Medicaid, then to the Idaho Congressional delegation and President Donald Trump.

In order for states to make certain changes in how they administer the program, they must submit a waiver to HHS.

The memorial was presented by Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, who has also sponsored two other bills this session that would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to seek a number of waivers in an effort to contain Medicaid costs, some of which are similar to those previously sought in 2019.

Redman told the House Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday that he worked on the resolution with David Ripley — the head of the anti-abortion group Idaho Chooses Life — and that Ripley had worked with the Congressional delegation.

When the health department submitted the family planning waiver, it was criticized by abortion-rights groups such as the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood.

Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Great Northwest, told the Associated Press at the time that it was a “thinly masked attempt to cut off access to family planning providers such as Planned Parenthood.”

Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley, had concerns about the language in the resolution that states there was “no formal response” to all the waivers.

“We got a formal response — they said no,” Fuhriman said.

Fuhriman later made a motion to return the bill to the sponsor, rather than introduce it.

“I’m not comfortable telling the federal government that we did not get the response when we did,” Fuhriman said. “I feel like we’re lying ... and I would like that re-worded.”

His motion died in a 5-10 vote.

Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, wondered what the effect would be and why this was being sought in addition to the other bills requiring the state health department to seek more waivers.

“I am getting frustrated with the amount of bills we’re bringing if it’s not necessary,” McCann said.

Rep. Josh Wheeler, R-Ammon, also said he’d want to know when the resolution came back for a full hearing what the effect would be if the waivers submitted in 2019 were approved and if the new waivers required under House Bill 345 were also sought.

The work requirements sought in 2019 are slightly different than those in HB 345 — the 2019 ones have a younger age of exemption, at 59 instead of 64, and an exemption for parents of children under 18 instead of under 6 in the new bill.

The memorial was introduced in a 10-5 vote, which will allow it to come back for a full public hearing.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.