On Monday, S1207 was introduced by JFAC to appropriate additional funds to State Hospital South.

This is a fiscal year 2016 supplemental appropriation bill to the Department of Health and Welfare for State Hospital South. This bill provides an additional $511,600 of dedicated and federal fund appropriation for personnel costs.

For the past several years the department has transferred personnel cost appropriation from other programs to meet payroll needs at the hospital. The hospital does not have the ability to leave positions open or vacant and needs to maintain adequate staffing levels for patient and staff safety.

To read this bill click here.

On Tuesday, Health and Welfare Director Dick Armstrong presented Governor Otter's PCAP program to both the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees.

His main message to legislators was that the plan is not an entitlement. The plan will operate to the funding available and participants have to share in the cost, and they have to invest in their care plan, or they can be disenrolled.

Director Armstrong shared the details of how the PCAP program would work, beginning with submitting an application through the state’s existing application process that’s also used for Medicaid, the state insurance exchange, and welfare; to, if found eligible, being assigned to a clinic; to being contacted by the clinic about doing a detailed health assessment and developing a plan for addressing the patient’s health care needs; to getting services ranging from preventive care to in-clinic behavioral health treatment.

To hear Director Armstrong's presentation click here, follow the instructions, and choose January 26th.

The first alternative bills for Medicaid expansion are scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health and Welfare committee on Tuesday, February 2nd at 3:00.

The public is invited to attend the hearing and testify on the importance of closing the coverage gap. This is the first time the public has been invited to testify on the issue.

Senate bill 1204 and 1205 were introduced by Senator Schmidt last week.

S1204 directs the Department of Health and Welfare to change their definition of Medicaid eligibility to include all individuals whose income is below 138% of the Federal Poverty level. The purpose of this legislation is to provide access to medical care for approximately 78,000 Idahoans, most of whom are employed in full time work but earn too little to obtain health insurance on Your Health Idaho, the state based health insurance exchange. This is expected to have a positive impact on the health and productivity of our citizens by increasing access to health care. It will unburden our economy by reducing bankruptcies due to uncovered medical expenses. It will reduce recidivism since many released prisoners currently have no access to medical care. Finally, it will reduce government by eliminating the need for county indigent programs and the State Catastrophic Health Cost Payment program.

To read S1204 click here.

S1205 would make people earning less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) eligible for Managed Medicaid enrollment. Idahoans earning between 100% - 138% of FPL would be enrolled in the state exchange and their premium supported by state and federal funds. There would be many broad social and economic impacts to providing health insurance and removing the threat of medical bankruptcies from the working poor in Idaho.

To read S1205 click here.

Representative Paul Shepherd of Riggins has once again submitted legislation for a specialty Maniac license plate. You may remember last year this same piece of legislation was introduced, but never received a hearing. The House Transportation committee approved printing the bill with only Representative Phylis King objecting.

Shepherd said money from the Maniac plate would go to the Clearwater Community Foundation to pay for various youth programs. The mascot for Orofino High School is the Maniac. Coincidentally, Orofino is home to State Hospital North, a state run psychiatric facility.

Mental Health advocates strongly objected to having a license plate depicting a maniac last year and I'm sure they will again this year.

By definition the word maniac is a raving or violently insane person; lunatic. 

To weigh in on this legislation contact the members of the House Transportation and Defense committee. 

Secretary: Vicky Davies
Email: htran@house.idaho.gov
Phone: 332-1146

Chair Joe Palmer 

Vice Chair Paul E. Shepherd 

Richard Wills 
Linden B. Bateman 
Terry Gestrin 
Brandon A. Hixon 
Clark Kauffman 
Kelley Packer 
Rick D. Youngblood 
Patrick McDonald 
Sage G. Dixon 
Steven Harris 
James Holtzclaw 
Jason A. Monks 
Phylis K. King 
Dan Rudolph 
Melissa Wintrow 

To see the Maniac click here.

On Thursday, Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, declined to schedule either a full hearing on minimum wage legislation proposed by Sen. Maryanne Jordan, D-Boise, and Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, or an introductory hearing, which would allow the bill to be printed and get a bill number.

McKenzie, chairman of the Senate State Affairs committee said the bill doesn't have a chance to get through the legislature and he sees no support coming from the Governor's office on the issue.

The bill would raise Idaho’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage to $8.50 an hour on July 1, 2017, and to $9.75 on July 1, 2017. The minimum wage for tipped workers would rise from the current $3.30 an hour to $3.80 on July 1, 2016, and to $4.25 a year later. After that, both would be adjusted annually based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.

If there is legislation that you want to follow, there is a a nice tool offered by Legislative Services that help you know where in the process a bill is. Click here and log in to establish your own personal bill tracker for 2016.

Week 1 January 11-15, 2016

Week 2 January 18-22, 2016