House passes Medicaid budget, heads to governor

BOISE — The Idaho House approved the Medicaid budget on Wednesday, marking the approval of the state’s largest budget. The appropriation goes to the governor for consideration.

The total budget for the program, including federal and state money, is $5.2 billion. The budget approved Wednesday was just the “enhancement” budget, largely accounting for funds the state was obligated to pay through contracts or federal laws.

The “maintenance budget” that had previously been approved with ongoing funds allocated from the prior year totaled around $4.6 billion. The enhancement budget that passed Wednesday totaled $674 million in mostly federal money. The state’s general fund portion of the budget totaled around $70 million.