| Idahoans
for Healthcare tour visits Cottonwood
Idahoans for Healthcare visited Cottonwood on Sunday, October 28th, as part of a statewide tour to spread awareness about Idaho's health care coverage gap. Voters will have the opportunity on November 6th to decide whether to extend Medicaid coverage to 62,000 Idahoans who currently cannot afford health care. Emily Strizich, Co-Chair of Idahoans for Healthcare, recently worked as a pediatric therapist in Cottonwood schools. "Having worked in these schools as an occupational therapist, I can tell you how many hard-working families will benefit from having to access to affordable preventative healthcare," she said Sunday at Rodonna's Country Haus. Proposition 2, if passed by voters, will bring more of our tax dollars home from Washington, D.C. Each year, we are missing out on roughly $400 million in federal spending that has instead been going to 32 other states that have already expanded Medicaid. These funds will help pay for the Medicaid expansion, boost our economy and create thousands of new jobs here in Idaho. The measure would also result in net savings to the state and county budgets by reducing the cost of current programs for treating uninsured patients in emergency rooms, which is the most expensive way to provide care. In fiscal year 2016, according to the Idaho Hospital Association, St. Mary's Hospital and Clinics in Cottonwood declared $868,000 in uncompensated care, while Syringa Hospital and Clinics in Grangeville wrote off $1 million in unpaid bills. In 2017, $284,000 in state and county funds were used to cover medical bills for uninsured Idaho County residents. Savings in indigent programs would partially or completely offset the state costs of expanded Medicaid if Proposition 2 passes, according to a recent analysis by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. The remaining portion of costs for Medicaid expansion, 90% of the total expense, would come from federal tax dollars. In Idaho County, nearly 17% of working-age adults (age 18-64) are uninsured, according to the U.S. Census. If passed, Medicaid expansion would ensure that all Idahoans have access to affordable health care. After years of inaction on this issue in the Idaho legislature, the decision will now be put to Idaho voters. "I think that Medicaid expansion under the current program is the best way to address the issue of the gap population not having insurance,” said Fred Wood, R-Burley, who chairs the House Health and Welfare Committee. Volunteers from Idahoans for Healthcare, a coalition of healthcare providers, business leaders, and nonprofit groups, gathered more than 74,000 signatures from registered voters to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot. Colleen Wilson, Keuterville resident and former St. Mary's Hospital business manager, stated that over many years working at the hospital she "saw many members of this community struggle to afford the care they need. They were working hard, but could not afford health care." About 22 community members attended Sunday's event. Visit idahoansforhealthcare.org for more information. 
Several local people posed with the Idahoans For Healthcare RV when it stopped at Rodonna’s Country Haus on Sunday afternoon. Submitted photo. |
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