Close the Gap to fight Prop 2 tampering

The group that formed a campaign to pass the Proposition 2 Idaho Medicaid expansion says it’s now preparing to fight to keep it.

“Close the Gap” is calling on state lawmakers to implement Medicaid expansion exactly as the proposition was written, voter approved, and passed by a 60 percent margin in November. The group says changes to the law could cost Idaho millions of dollars to administer and delay getting health coverage to working families who need it.

“Medicaid expansion as passed by voters makes good economic sense for Idaho, saving state taxpayers $18 million annually and allowing Idaho to bring our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C.” explained Lauren Necochea, director of Idaho Voices for Children. “Creating barriers to coverage will increase administrative costs while decreasing access to care for the Idahoans who need it the most. Implementing unmodified Medicaid expansion is the only way to realize the full benefits of the program.”

According to Close the Gap, some other states, notably Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Arkansas, have attempted to institute barriers to health care which have cost the states hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary administrative costs.

“These costs are astronomical when compared to the much smaller investment the state would make through unmodified implementation of Proposition 2,” said Erin Bennett, Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association, Idaho Chapter. “Furthermore, creating new layers of bureaucratic red tape and increasing administrative costs won’t help taxpayers or Idahoans who need health coverage.”