April 15, 2026

Celebrating Our Legislative Wins!

A Message from IMA President Dr. Megan Kasper

As the latest legislative session has adjourned and Governor Little has made final determinations on the bills that crossed his desk, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the victories IMA achieved in the face of a session characterized by funding challenges due to an ongoing budgetary shortfall.

GME Funding Protected

Thanks to the hard work of our advocacy team, we were able to protect funding for year nine of the ten-year GME expansion plan, fully funding 15 new residency positions and continuing to build on IMA's efforts to strengthen the physician workforce in Idaho.

A last-minute budget vote for the Department of Health and Welfare would have severely impacted GME funding, effectively cutting eight existing residency positions. Fortunately, Governor Little responded with a line-item veto on April 10 and this funding was restored. In a letter announcing the veto, Gov. Little acknowledged that Idaho is facing one of the most severe physician shortages in the nation and that undermining our GME program jeopardizes our investment in and commitment to the physicians training to care for our communities. IMA thanks Gov. Little for his support for growing Idaho's physician workforce and protecting access to care.

Parental Consent Law

Another major win I want to highlight are the extensive amendments we were able to achieve to Idaho's parental consent law. This was an effort two years in the making and legislative priority by the IMA House of Delegates. Thanks to the stellar work of IMA legal counsel Ken McClure and the advocacy team, each IMA priority was addressed including:

• Ability to treat minors in an emergency directly related to an allegation of a crime committed against them;
• Allowing pregnant minors to consent to their own care from the prenatal through the peripartum period;
• Allow the Idaho Crisis and Suicide 988 Hotline to assist minors experiencing a mental health crisis and permitting follow-up contact within 48 hours to reassess their safety;
• A modified emergency standard that includes serious bodily harm;
• Clear guidelines for blanket parental consent forms to allow treatment of minors;
• Prohibits disclosure of medical records containing information related to physical abuse, abandonment, or neglect; and
• Allows physicians to assess and treat drug-addicted newborns they suspect are experiencing withdrawal.

These much-needed changes are especially meaningful to me as an Ob/Gyn. Previously, essential care such as prenatal care or pain control in labor did not meet emergency criteria, which impaired my ability to care for the most vulnerable minors. I am proud of the work IMA has done to protect minors and preserve our ability as physicians to provide compassionate, appropriate care for Idaho's kids.

This is of course a brief sampling of our legislative successes this year. For a full report on the outcomes of IMA's legislative priorities and advocacy efforts, CLICK HERE. Thank you from me to each and every one of you who are IMA members; this is why our collective voice matters.

As we move forward, I would like to repeat my vision that I shared at the 2025 Annual Meeting: to challenge each practicing physician in the state to donate to IMPAC on a monthly basis. If even a small percentage of us donated $100/month, we could easily become one of the top five PACs in the state. Let's mobilize and continue to move forward!

AMA Scope of Practice Partnership Boosts IMA Advocacy Efforts

The 2026 legislative session included an extraordinary number of proposals expanding scope of practice, placing significant demands on IMA's advocacy efforts. IMA is grateful to the American Medical Association (AMA) Scope of Practice Partnership (SOPP) for awarding us a $25,000 grant to help expand our lobbying capacity during this critical period. That investment strengthened IMA's ability to engage meaningfully on key legislation, including:

• Midwifery formulary - HB 639 (signed into law) helps create a transparent pathway for licensed midwives to propose future formulary updates through an open process that includes public notice and meaningful opportunity for input. The bill sponsor, Rep. Jordan Redman (R-Coeur d'Alene) worked with IMA to address concerns with an earlier version of the legislation.

• Prescribing authority for chiropractors - SB 1254 (signed into law) gives prescribing authority to chiropractors for a limited formulary of prescription products, including select vitamins, minerals, fluids, epinephrine, and emergency oxygen, all of which can currently be administered.

• Physician assistant independent practice - HB 806 (held in committee) aimed to allow physician assistants to practice independently upon graduation from their training programs. IMA physician leaders met with the Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants (IAPA) Board members to discuss the bill and challenges that PAs are facing with their current licensure requirements. Ultimately, the IAPA Board voted to oppose HB 806. IMA is committed to engaging with IAPA in the interim to seek common ground.

At a time when demands on physician advocacy continue to grow, the SOPP's support played an important role in helping IMA defend patient safety and physician-led care in Idaho. IMA greatly appreciates this partnership and investment in our work.

Idaho Lawmakers Dodged Medicaid Expansion Repeal. But What Did They Do With Medicaid?

By Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun

April 9, 2026

This year, it seemed like a repeal of Idaho Medicaid Expansion -- a longtime goal of some Republican state legislators -- might have a shot.

At the start of the 2026 session, it was clear that the Legislature was bracing for a tough budget year, after years of tax cuts and plans for even more. Before the session started, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, signaled he was open to repealing expansion.

But a repeal bill didn't even advance out of committee. To Republican Sen. Julie VanOrden, it seemed miraculous.

"The fact that we didn't have a Medicaid expansion repeal bill, and get it passed and get it through was, to me, short of a miracle. Because the topic kept coming up over and over again," VanOrden, of Pingree, told the Idaho Capital Sun. "...I think they really wanted to do it, but I will tell you in an election year, they don't want to have that going into a campaign for their primary elections."

But what lawmakers actually did seemed like a "backdoor" way to repeal expansion, argues Boise Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow.

In the 2026 legislative session, which was defined by budget cuts, Republican legislators tacked on strict work requirements for the roughly 80,000 low-income Idahoans on Medicaid expansion -- which researchers estimate will kick tens of thousands of Idahoans off the public assistance program. And lawmakers cut pay rates for providers who care for people with disabilities and extended cuts to Medicaid's already low pay rate for doctors. READ MORE

Strategies to Navigate Payor Contracts

Join us on May 13th for this webinar from the IMA Education Series

This session will provide a practical, high-level roadmap to help healthcare practices better understand and manage payor contracts.

• Learn how to analyze your claims and reimbursement data to pinpoint high-impact CPT codes, identify underpayments, and prioritize the most important areas of your fee schedule for negotiation.
• Understand benchmarking approaches to compare your current reimbursement rates to market standards and uncover meaningful leverage with payors.
• Review key "issue-spotter" contract provisions, including how provider manuals and payor policies are incorporated, updated and enforced over time.
• Explore critical contract guardrails around patient billing, collections, termination clauses, and network status changes and what they mean in real-world practice operations.
• Walk through the internal appeal and dispute-resolution process, highlighting common notice requirements, deadlines, and waiver pitfalls that can impact your success.

Presenters: Jana Weis, Principal, Gill Compliance Solutions & Guest Presenter Cameron McCue, Esq., Holland & Hart LLP

Audience: Coders, auditors, providers and administrators that manage payor contracts.

AAPC-Approved for one hour of CEU credit

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

IAFP Workforce and Rural Support Virtual Forum: OB Competency with Dr. Kelly McGrath: April 16, 2026, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. MT. Dr. Kelly McGrath of Orofino will lead a discussion focused on the current state of C-section capabilities in Idaho rural hospitals and explore innovative solutions to support continued competency of our physicians who provide this service. All rural or rural-adjacent clinicians, administrators and staff are welcome to attend. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.

ACP Idaho Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting: The Idaho Chapter of the American College of Physicians annual scientific meeting will be held at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Meridian, Idaho, May 15-17, 2026. Hospitalists, internal medicine physicians, subspecialists, and residents and students from around the state of Idaho are invited to attend and earn CME credits. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.