Medicaid expansion Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Idaho Legislature Passes Bill Aimed At Making Citizen Initiatives Harder To Get On Ballot

By NWPB News April 7, 2021

Amy Pratt personally collected more than 1,000 signatures to help get Proposition 2 on the ballot. It's the first time she's been politically active and she has no plans of stopping. CREDIT: JAMES DAWSON / BSPR

Legislation making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots is heading to the governor, who has hinted of a possible veto. The House voted 51-18 on Wednesday to approve the measure backers said is needed because the current process favors urban voters. It passed the Senate 26-9 last month. Those numbers are enough to overcome a veto.Read More

Idaho Lawmakers Move Closer To Making It Harder To Get Initiatives On The Ballot

By NWPB News March 8, 2021

An Idaho House panel approved legislation Monday making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots in what is widely seen as a rural vs. urban issue.Read More

Idaho Advocacy Group Sues To Get More Time For Ballot Measure Signature Gathering

By Doug Nadvornick June 9, 2020

Idaho’s signature gathering window was interrupted in mid-March due to coronavirus restrictions. Now, Reclaim Idaho hopes to put a public school funding initiative on the November ballot by asking a federal judge for extra time to collect signatures.Read More

Seasonal Ranch Workers Worry About Montana’s Medicaid Work Requirement

By NPR News November 3, 2019

Kate Clyatt, 28, works seasonally as a ranch hand in southwest Montana, and relies on the state's Medicaid program for health coverage. "Ranching is just not a job with a lot of money in it," Clyatt says. "I don't know at what point I'm going to be able to get off of Medicaid." CREDIT: Corin Cates-Carney/Montana Public Radio

Montana recently passed a law that, if it gains federal approval and goes into effect as planned in January, would require many Medicaid recipients to prove they work a set number of hours each month.Read More

Idaho Group That Pushed For Medicaid Expansion Seeks Input On Citizen Initiatives

By Doug Nadvornick July 30, 2019

The group that sponsored Idaho’s successful Medicaid expansion initiative last year is now working on a new project. Reclaim Idaho is trying to preserve the rights of citizen groups to propose initiatives and collect signatures to put them on the ballot.Read More

Idaho Gov. Brad Little Signs Medicaid Expansion Bill With Work Requirements

By NWPB News April 9, 2019

Idaho Gov. Brad Little delivers his State of the State address inside the house chambers at the state Capitol building, Monday, Jan. 7, 2019 in Boise, Idaho. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/OTTO KITSINGER

Idaho will ask the federal government for permission to implement mandatory work requirements for those covered under the state’s Medicaid plan. Gov. Brad Little signed the bill despite concerns about the constitutionality of such requirements that were repeatedly brought up during public testimony and debates.Read More

Idaho Gov. Brad Little Vetoes Bill That Would Have Made Ballot Initiatives Tougher

By NWPB News April 5, 2019

In a rebuke to the Idaho legislature, Gov. Brad Little has “reluctantly” vetoed a bill that some say would’ve made it nearly impossible to get an initiative on the ballot. Little also plans to veto a second, similar bill that would’ve loosened some of the original proposal’s restrictions.Read More

Idaho Supreme Court To Decide Fate Of Voter-Approved Medicaid Expansion

By NWPB News February 1, 2019

File photo of Idaho Supreme Court chamber. CREDIT: JAMES DAWSON/BSPR

The future of Idaho’s Medicaid expansion is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court. The libertarian-leaning Idaho Freedom Foundation quickly filed suit after more than 60 percent of voters signed off on expanding Medicaid in November.Read More

Idaho’s Proposition 2 Puts Medicaid Expansion To Voters After State Lawmakers Refused

By NWPB News November 3, 2018

After years of inaction by the Idaho legislature on the state's healthcare gap, Proposition 2 on the state ballot gives Idahoans the chance to say whether they want Medicaid expansion -- a proposal endorsed by outgoing Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.Read More