Pleas from uninsured, physicians don’t sway Idaho lawmakers on Medicaid expansion

Following more than two hours of impassioned public testimony, a legislative panel reviewing health care options for thousands of Idaho’s working poor acknowledged Wednesday that it does not expect to reach consensus on what if any action to recommend to the full Legislature.

“I just don’t see us all agreeing here,” said Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, a panel co-chair, at the end of a daylong hearing that included testimony from approximately 40 people.

Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, the other co-chair, asked panel members to “put your ideas on paper” for discussion at the next meeting, which is Oct. 24. The panel might submit those findings in a resolution or report to the Legislature, but “for this group to come up with legislation would be foolhardy,” he said.

In the fourth hearing since convening in July, lawmakers Wednesday took public testimony for the first time from an audience that included health care providers, municipal officials, doctors and individuals at various stages of managing health emergencies on their own, without insurance:

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