Reclaim Idaho for Medicaid group visits Weiser on tour

Supporters of Idaho’s Proposition 2, a ballot measure approved by voters last November, met on Jan. 5 in Weiser at Ruszoni’s Pizzeria.

 Seven folks from the Weiser area met with Luke Mayville – the co-founder of Reclaim Idaho for Medicaid expansion – to hear the latest on Prop 2 and issues with getting it implemented in Idaho.  

 Proposition 2 was passed by the voters in Idaho on Nov. 6 by 61.6 percent and Gov. Brad Little signed it into law, but it’s not a done deal. 

 “The Idaho Legislature has to do the right thing – take immediate action to fund Medicaid expansion as the bill is written” Mayville said.  

 The concern of Mayville and others is that many legislators are resistant to passing it as is. 

 Many believe that work restrictions should be imposed as a stipulation to coverage, he said.

 “Other states, and Arkansas is a good example, tried this approach and it failed miserably. The restrictions caused so much confusion and government red tape that many working citizens, who fully qualified for coverage, were denied simply because they hadn’t completed all the paperwork,” Mayville said.

 Creating more government bureaucracy and wasting taxpayers’ dollars was never intended by the voters who passed the bill, he said.  

 Mayville urged local residents who supported Proposition 2 to let the District 9 representatives in the Idaho Legislature know that they want the measure implemented as written. 

 He said 62,000-plus Idaho individuals and families who are currently in the coverage gap need access to healthcare coverage, which was the intent of Prop. 2.

 Those who attended the meeting and listened to Mayville had the chance to ask questions and write letters to District 9 legislators.