BOISE BENCH, Idaho — A bill that would repeal Idaho's Medicaid expansion program is advancing inside the statehouse, with supporters saying it could save the state more than $1 billion while opponents warn it could strip health care coverage from tens of thousands of Idahoans.
The House Health and Welfare Committee voted 10–6 on Monday to introduce the legislation, which would eliminate the program Idaho voters approved in 2018 to help low-income adults get health insurance. If passed, Medicaid expansion would be removed from state law and could take effect in 2028.
"People are going to die. Just period," said Randy Johnson, government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
WATCH | Idaho bill to repeal Medicaid expansion advances at the statehouse—
Medicaid expansion was designed to cover adults who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but still cannot afford private health insurance. Reclaim Idaho, the group that led the original voter initiative, said repealing the program could impact more than 85,000 Idahoans.
“What today's vote represented for the several legislators who voted to repeal Medicaid expansion, it really represented them putting their ideological agenda over the well-being of the working families of our state,” said Luke Mayville, executive director of Reclaim Idaho.
House Health and Welfare Chairman John Vander Woude supported introducing the legislation.
"I would rather support the people with disabilities than the able-bodied adults, and so I will be supporting the original motion," Vander Woude said.
Republican Representative Jordan Redman, the bill's sponsor, argued the program can discourage workers from earning more.
"I've had a number of folks, employers in my district, say that, you know, they can't, uh, increase pay from some folks because it would take away their benefits. I believe that oftentimes this can actually hold people back from their full potential," Redman said.
According to the bill's fiscal note, supporters estimate eliminating expansion could save more than $1 billion across several funding sources.
However, a study from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy found that in fiscal year 2023, Medicaid expansion generated approximately $78 million in cost savings while state costs were approximately $73 million.
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Critics of the proposed legislation argue that repealing the program could shift costs elsewhere and leave vulnerable Idahoans without care. Johnson warned of the consequences for those facing serious illness.
"When you hear those words, you have cancer, and you have no way to go to the doctor to continue treatment, and that's scary, and that's not what we want for Idaho," Johnson said.
Luke Mayville, executive director of Reclaim Idaho, argued that rejecting the federal funding tied to Medicaid expansion would not save money nationally.
"When we don't take our federal taxes back to Idaho, the truth is that those tax dollars just go to other states," Mayville said.
