state politics: idaho

JFAC Doesn’t Raise Medicaid Payments in Idaho, Again

By Sharon Fisher, 2-20-08

In less than an hour, the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee spent more than $1.4 billion today, on Medicaid and other medical services for the poor.

This amount—the largest share of the budget other than for public education—was done, however, without any increases in the rates paid to providers, which Representative Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, said could end up increasing costs in the long run.

“If we don’t raise rates, we will pay a higher rate of care in nursing homes,” said Henbest, a nurse practitioner outside of the Legislature, speaking about denying the Department of Health & Welfare’s request to increase the rates paid to Residential Assisted Living Facility providers. These rates, which have not been raised since 1999, enable 2,900 Medicaid participants to save the state $2,700 per month by not staying in nursing homes, according to the agency.

At various points during the budget hearing and setting process, the issue of the amount Medicaid pays to providers has been brought up. Due to the low payments, various providers, including doctors and dentists as well as residential care facilities, are no longer taking Medicaid patients, which makes it increasingly difficult for Medicaid patients to find medical care. For example, some counties in Idaho have no dentists taking Medicaid.

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