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A proposal will be introduced Monday to address the estimated 78,000 Idahoans who don’t qualify for Medicaid but also don’t make enough to qualify for health insurance subsidies, the head of the House Health and Welfare Committee says. Fred Wood, R-Burley, says legislative leaders were still finalizing the proposal as of Thursday, and committee members expressed new support for addressing the so-called Medicaid gap population before adjournment, which is tentatively expected by the end of next week. (Brown, 3/17)

A Senate committee advanced a bill Thursday forbidding Medicaid payments for elective births before the 39th week of pregnancy if they aren’t medically necessary, but it delayed consideration of a bill requiring doctors to screen pregnant women for certain risk factors. (Hart, 3/17)