Idaho House panel kills health care alternative plan

An Idaho House panel has spiked a proposal that would have allowed health insurance carriers to offer non-Obamacare approved plans, while also imposing new requirements for Medicaid recipients.

The proposal was supposed to be an alternative to a separate bill already introduced in the Statehouse designed to reduce Idaho’s health coverage gap.

HB 615 would have directed the Idaho Department of Insurance to permit insurance carriers to offer plans that don’t meet the requirements under the Affordable Care Act.

It also said adult Medicaid recipients should hold jobs and limits lifetime participation in the federal program to five years for certain recipients.

However, the House Health and Welfare panel on Monday agreed that Zollinger’s bill raised too many concerns and stopped the bill from advancing to the House floor.