Voters to answer Medicaid question

Months of signature-gathering have paid off for backers of an initiative to expand Medicaid eligibility in Idaho. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney confirmed that the Medicaid eligibility expansion ballot initiative had enough signatures to put it on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. The governor’s race, lieutenant governor’s race, state legislative seats, and a historical horse racing initiative are among other decisions awaiting voters on the Nov. 6 ballot.

According to a press release from Denney’s office, the initiative needed at least 56,192 valid petition signatures, or 6 percent of the total registered voters at the time of the last general election, to qualify for the ballot. The signatures also needed to be spread out over at least 18 legislative districts with at least 6 percent of registered voters from each district. Leaders of the Reclaim Idaho movement, which led the petition-gathering process, said they had submitted 75,134 signatures and exceeded the 6 percent minimum in 21 legislative districts across the Gem State.

“We’ll keep knocking doors so 62,000 Idahoans can get healthcare and our tax dollars can come back to Idaho!” promised the group in a tweet Tuesday.

If approved by a majority of voters, the initiative would require the state to “amend its state plan to expand Medicaid eligibility to include people under 65 whose modified adjusted gross income is 133 percent of the federal poverty level or below and who are not otherwise eligible for any other coverage under the state plan.”

It also mandates that within 90 days of approval, the state “submit any necessary state plan amendments to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the provisions of this section.”

According to Idaho Code 34-1813, the voter initiative does not require the signature of the governor, which Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Paulette Jordan promised she would provide if elected.

In a July 8 tweet, Jordan wrote, “I look forward to the day when I sign this initiative into law as Governor, correcting this injustice for all who believe in One Idaho!”

Unlike normal pieces of legislation which the governor can approve or veto, voter initiatives take effect when the secretary of state canvasses the total number of votes for and against the measure, and the governor then issues a proclamation declaring the law in effect if voters have approved it.

According to Idaho Code 34-1812A-C, supporters and opponents of the measure have until July 20 to “prepare and file an argument not to exceed 500 words” regarding the voter initiative, and until Aug. 1 to file 250-word rebuttal arguments, to be included in a voters pamphlet the Secretary of State’s office will distribute by Sept. 25.

To read the initiative, go to: bit.ly/IDMedicaid