H419

NO, this bill is NOT good for Idaho Children

This bill requires the submission and implementation of one state plan amendment,
one 1132 waiver, and seven 1115 waivers by July 1, 2025, or Medicaid expansion is
repealed. These requirements are essentially unachievable. This will effectively repeal
Medicaid Expansion.

Three of the proposed waivers (Medicaid or State Based Marketplace Choice, Enrollment Caps, Lifetime Benefit Limits) have been never been approved by any administration (including the Trump administration in the case of Marketplace Choice.)

The Biannual redetermination waiver would add significant paperwork burden and costs to both Idahoans and to the Department of Health & Welfare, and potentially delay needed health care. Medicaid already requires individuals to report any monthly income changes.

1115 waivers are demonstration waivers designed to enhance programs. The rules state they must enhance access to services or coverage, not reduce access. It is difficult to see how these waiver requests improve access to coverage, when they are specifically designed to remove people from coverage. Additionally, they go against the central tenet of Medicaid law, which is to provide coverage to eligible people. This is why they have been overturned in federal court in the past, as they could not show how these would improve access to coverage.