We will hunt them down?

A recent Guest Editorial by two Democrat Boise legislators offered a highly distorted, reckless, incendiary partisan take on Idaho’s new Medicaid expansion bill. I know and have worked with both of these Democrat legislators, so I’m baffled by their toxic language and deliberately misleading rhetoric. I’m also not sure they even wrote the column. It reads like a nationally produced hit piece from one of the well-funded outside groups allied with the Democrat party.

We don’t need extreme drama and exaggeration here in Idaho. I think our job as legislators is to listen, represent our districts and then give accurate information to our constituents. With that in mind, here are the facts about the Medicaid expansion bill we approved this legislative session. Senate bill 1204:

1. Offers help to those in the expansion who may need substance abuse treatment.

2. Asks for a Federal waiver to help fund treatment for those with mental disabilities.

3. Requests a Federal waiver so those who qualify for the expansion, but are currently on the private health insurance exchange, have the option to stay where they are or go onto Medicaid.

4. Asks for a patient-centered managed care medical system for those in the expansion, to offer continuity and help with all their needs.

5. Contains several safety clauses. One is to make sure that nothing slows down the implementation of Medicaid expansion in Idaho. The expansion became law as soon as then-Gov. Otter signed it last November. The Feds need time to get everything set up, and it has always been scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Nothing has blocked that, and it is progressing right on time.

6. Includes a work requirement for some able-bodied people. This is being used as a political hammer by Democrats. They told everyone, during the signature drive and campaign for Prop 2, that Medicaid expansion was for “hardworking Idahoans” and to “help the working poor in Idaho.” I honestly think most people who voted for the expansion did so to help their neighbors, friends and family who work but still cannot afford the high price of health care.

Senate Bill 1204 asks for a Federal waiver, which may or may not be granted, to offer some very soft work requirements for the small percentage of folks in the expansion who are able to work but aren’t currently working.

The work requirement waiver exempts anyone who is pregnant or caring for children or ill or disabled family members, or who is physically or mentally unable to work. There’s a long list of exemptions from the work requirement. For those able-bodied people who do fall under the work rule, they are only required to work an average of 20 hours a week, or they can volunteer, or be going to job training, or looking for work, or any combination of those options. The rules are so soft they are easier than Food Stamp work requirements! And the reporting is only every six months, just like Food Stamps.

If an able-bodied, non-exempt person does not fulfill the work requirement, they may be removed from Medicaid, but they can get right back on, anytime, if they volunteer, look for a job, get a job, or go to job training.

7. Cost. We worked with our state budget analysts to get the most accurate estimate possible at this time. After about $300,000 in start-up costs for personnel and technology, the annual ongoing cost of the requirements in Senate Bill 1204 are figured to be less than $500,000. There are also predicted savings to offset those costs. The managed care program, and people opting to stay on the private insurance exchange, could result in significant savings.

So why would the Democrats, in their recent guest editorial, make the following outrageously untrue claims about Senate Bill 1204: “…a bill that spends millions of dollars to hire a squadron of bureaucrats to hunt down the most vulnerable people in the state and strip them of Medicaid coverage…just to torment Idaho’s poorest citizens.”

Notice the Democrats’ extreme rhetoric, clearly designed to make readers think their political opponents — Republicans — aren’t just wrong, but bad people? Coupled with the falsehoods and distortions, as well their portrayal of Democrats as some kind of saviors of the people, this type of language only adds to our toxic political climate. It’s a disservice to Idahoans, who deserve better from their elected representatives.

I don’t want to get down in the mud with Democrats who seem intent on misleading you about Medicaid expansion. I just want you to have the facts, so you can draw your own conclusions.

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Sen. Mary Souza is Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and represents District 4, Coeur d’Alene.