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The Senate Health and Welfare Committee took testimony Tuesday on a proposal to expand Medicaid, an option available to states under the federal Affordable Care Act. Expansion would provide health insurance to 78,000 working adults in Idaho who do not qualify for Medicaid but do not earn enough to obtain subsidized insurance on the state health insurance exchange. These people are in the so-called gap group. (Dentzer, 2/2)

The Idaho Legislature's first-ever hearing on expanding Medicaid eligibility attracted hundreds of supporters eager to testify in favor Tuesday, but lawmakers declined to vote on whether to send the measure forward after listening to a handful of testimonies. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee held an information hearing on a proposal that would expand Medicaid eligibility to cover everyone who earns less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The Legislature's refusal to pass Medicaid expansion has likely resulted in over 1,000 deaths in the state, said Dr. Kenneth Krell, director of critical care at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. (Kruesi, 2/2)

Medicaid expansion got its first-ever hearing in the Idaho Legislature Tuesday, but with another health plan from the governor’s office in the mix, the outcome is still up in the air. Senate Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, started the meeting by saying he wanted it to be an “information only” hearing with no motions. He said it would put the committee in an awkward position to vote on Medicaid expansion now, given that the governor’s Health and Welfare’s plan to extend primary-care coverage to the uninsured is also expected to come up soon. (Brown, 2/2)

Reauthorizing Medicaid expansion for two more years received a boost Tuesday when the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee voted 17-1 in favor of the bill. The committee did make changes to House Bill 1696, such as increasing exemptions to the work requirement, but left the core of the bill unchanged. (Rayno, 2/2)