Local doctor fights to break Medicaid gap

A local doctor claims Idaho lawmakers are responsible for 1,000 deaths.

On Tuesday, Dr. Kenneth Krell testified at the statehouse in Boise urging lawmakers to expand Medicaid. Krell said people who cannot get insurance end up going to the hospital when it’s too late.

Many of the deaths are related to chronic diseases that require regular treatment but people are not able to pay for the necessary medical expenses. Some 78,000 Idahoans fall into the Medicaid gap, that is more than the amount of people who live in the city of Idaho Falls.

The gap consists of people who are too rich for Medicaid but too poor to get insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

“I haven’t been able to see a doctor for quite sometime,” said 36-year-old Tara Still.

Combined, Still and her husband work more hours than two-full-time employees. Together they bring home less than $30,000 a year.

“I work as much as I possibly can,” Still said. Which is not easy for Still because she has many health issues. She was born with bilateral club foot. “…Which is something I’ll have for the rest of my life and needs attention,” Still said.

Doctors say she needs to have another foot surgery that she can’t afford. However, that is not the only problem.

“When I was pregnant with my youngest child I had stage 4 cervical cancer. I was supposed to get it checked out every six months and that hasn’t been happening,” said Still. Without getting regular checkups, Tara could die. She fears she could become another statistic.

“Cancer is scary. It’s one of the leading causes of death out there. I want to be around for my kids. I want to get the health care I need,” Still said.

It’s people like Still that Dr. Krell is fighting for. “About one life a day is lost in the state of Idaho because legislators refuse to expand medicaid,” said Krell.

He says 61-percent of Idahoans support Medicaid expansion.

“When I see individuals with late stage disease that could have been treated in early phase but weren’t able to because they don’t have access health care. It leaves me very angry and frustrated,” said Krell.

He said those who have the power to change this don’t fully understand because all of them have access to health care and it is not fair.

“As citizens in the state of Idaho that’s not how we treat each other. That’s not how we take care of each other. That is what the Legislature needs to understand. This is not what Idahoans want. This is not how we treat each other humanely,” Krell said.

Krell said something must be done or more Idahoans will walk into hospitals and never walk back out.

Democratic lawmakers are not happy with Tuesday’s bill hearing. They claim it became “informational” only. They want the bill to expand Medicaid to come up for a vote. Republican lawmakers refused to vote on the issue. The Associated Press reports, the Republicans are waiting for Governor Otter’s alternative sate-funded proposal. However, his proposal has not yet been introduced to lawmakers.

In a press release Wednesday the Idaho Democrats said: “It is an abdication of legislative responsibility to avoid making tough decisions, defer casting votes and to fail to answer to constituents. Swift, considerate, courageous leadership on the part of legislators should be expected and required. What is the function and purpose of being a legislator if not to vote, and be accountable to the needs of the electorate?”