Democratic lawmakers hosted a town hall Wednesday where parents and caregivers voiced concerns about how Medicaid budget reductions could impact vulnerable populations across the state.
"If anyone tells you they don't have enough money to fund Medicaid, they are not telling the truth," said Steve Berch, a Democratic House representative.
WATCH: Medicaid users speak out to lawmakers
Lacey Protopoppus, a mother of two children who rely on Medicaid, told lawmakers at the public forum that the proposed cuts could negatively shape her children's future.
“He's made incredible growth in the year and a half that he's been on services. His growth is going to stagnate, it's gonna slow down,” Protopoppus said. "It's not going to be at the same rapid growth that it's been at, which will put him at a higher risk of needing services when he's an adult.”
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In August, Governor Little ordered a 3% hold back on public agencies following projected budget shortfalls. Republican Senate Health and Welfare Chairwoman Julie VanOrden said the agency followed with a 4% Medicaid rollback.
"Health and welfare has the Medicaid budget, and within that they always have to ask for more money in the end, because they get their bills from the year and there's usually a shortfall, so they have to ask for more money," VanOrden said. "So they anticipated that, so they looked at an extra 1% on top of the 3."
Protopoppus said that the 4% cut has already affected her son's care.
"It moved his services from local, very close to us, to a little bit further away, and shifted how many hours he's getting," Protopoppus said. "He's getting less of his services available because we don't have the time to go from one service to the next."
VanOrden said lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce services without eliminating programs.
"If we have to do something, we would rather reduce than remove any programs," VanOrden said. “There are some programs that might call for three individuals to go out on a call to help somebody. They said, ‘how about if we just send two.’ That will save on that budget. It will reduce but it won't remove that.”
Caregivers working under Medicaid's home and community-based services said even reductions can be harmful.
"We're doing everything we can, but any other cuts would be devastating," said Thea Fuhs, a direct support professional.
This forum is the first in a series of town halls hosted by Idaho House and Senate Democrats. It comes after Senate Democrats asked Republican leaders to hold public hearings before Medicaid services are reduced. According to Democrats, the request was denied, prompting them to create their own spaces for public input.
But Chairwoman VanOrden described the situation differently.
"I said to her that we would do a hearing, but we wanted people to come in and tell us where we could cut or give us ideas of where we could reduce," VanOrden said.
Caregivers said that's exactly what they want.
"We understand that budgets are challenging and that maybe some cuts do need to be made," Fuhs said. "We just want them to be more careful, more deliberate and let us join in the conversation. Let us have a seat at the table because we have ideas."
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