Senate committee kills Idaho Medicaid expansion bill

Legislation requiring work requirements for some Medicaid expansion recipients in Idaho has failed in a Senate committee.

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 7-2 Wednesday to hold the bill in committee, killing it.

The bill passed the House earlier this month.

The legislation would have required a 20-hour-per-week work minimum and people who are between 100 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level to continue paying for private insurance on the state-run health exchange.

Voters authorized Medicaid expansion with an initiative in November after years of inaction by the Idaho Legislature.

But many Republican lawmakers in the GOP-dominated Legislature oppose Medicaid expansion.

A different Medicaid expansion bill with voluntary work requirements is currently in the Senate awaiting amendments.