State of Idaho Archives: on Health Care

Brad Little: Replace ObamaCare with local control

Brad Little: Respect voters' will if Proposition 2 passes

"We cannot continue to let hardworking Idahoans go without healthcare," said Governor Otter. "Proposition 2 will provide healthcare to 62,000 Idahoans and it'll bring $400 million of our tax dollars back to Idaho. In addition, Proposition 2 will keep our rural hospitals and county clinics open." Prop 2 will appear on ballots across the state Nov. 6.

Medicaid expansion was a topic during this week's gubernatorial debate. Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan said she is a supporter of Prop 2. Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Brad Little has declined to say whether he will vote for the initiative but said if elected governor, he would respect the will of the voters if they pass Medicaid expansion.

Brad Little: Honor the will of the people & implement Medicaid expansion

While making health care available to low-income individuals we should also do what we can to make affordable, accessible, quality health care available to all Idahoans.

An unintended outcome of the Affordable Care Act is that too many people are priced out of health insurance coverage. In the past two years, the number of uninsured Idahoans increased by 125,000--almost double the gap population. As Idaho continues to enjoy the fastest-growing economy in the nation, the number of insured Idahoans should be increasing not decreasing.

Brad Little: First state to introduce "enhanced short-term plans"

Brad Little: Expanded telehealth access, let's make changes permanent

Brad Little: $50 million to improve behavioral healthcare across Idaho

Butch Otter: State-based health exchange, not federal one-size-fits-all

Butch Otter: Incentivize health care professionals to come to Idaho

Butch Otter: Expand Medicaid to cover those in state's healthcare gap

David Roth: Fix the gaps in the ACA, especially in under-served areas

Ed Humphreys: Ban vaccine and mask mandates, ban vaccine passports

• Ban employer-mandated vaccinations. (Oregon banned health care employees from being required to vaccinate over 30 years ago. Their hospitals have been just fine until the ultra-politicized COVID experimental treatment came around.)
• Ban mask mandates in Idaho schools.
• Ban government agencies and big business from requiring vaccine passports.

Janice McGeachin: Support your right to try non-traditional health remedies

Janice McGeachin: Defending state means rejecting enhanced federal Medicaid

Jim Risch: ObamaCare is a regulatory quagmire

A: Yes. I fought against ObamaCare originally and I voted for and cosponsored every attempt to repeal it. This regulatory quagmire is not the solution for America's healthcare problems. We need more jobs and its small businesses that create those jobs. ObamaCare has discouraged small businesses from expanding. It has instead encouraged small business owners to cut hours, hire more part-time employees, increase the amount the employees contribute to healthcare, and in some instances, even quit providing healthcare coverage. When so many Americans are seeking stable sustainable employment, we do not need this law with thousands of pages of federal mandates and its chilling effect on job growth. I would replace ObamaCare with market-oriented reforms; a plan that gives individual Americans greater control over their healthcare and reduces the cost. The Patient CARE Act proposed by republican senators is a better alternative.

Michael Crapo: Oppose Obamacare; government-run health care not the answer

Nancy Harris: Supported Medicare for All; regulate drug prices

• Providing Adequate, Affordable Healthcare for All
• Support Medicare for all
• Establish regulations to help limit the price of prescription drugs
• Restore funding for research on cures for HIV, malaria, and other infectious diseases
• Establish policies to address drug abuse and the opioid crisis
• Educating Young People for the Future

Natalie Fleming: Universal Catastrophic Insurance for expenses over $50,000

1. Universal Catastrophic Insurance for medical expenses over $50,000.
2. Direct Primary Care: Small Family Practices charge simple monthly fee providing care.
3. Individuals and families can purchase Gap Health insurance for the in-between.
4. Allow Medicaid recipients to opt into Direct Primary Care. Medicaid pays the monthly fee.

Nels Mitchell: Most of ObamaCare is good; fix the parts that aren't

A: Certainly, there are problems with the ACA, and they need to be addressed. We should keep what works and fix what doesn't work. In the U.S. Senate, I will work with colleagues from both parties to repeal, or amend, those parts of the ACA that do not make sense and to retain those provisions that are working well. Most Idahoans I've talked to tell me they are relieved that coverage can no longer be denied because of pre-existing conditions and that they appreciate the fact that coverage can no longer be limited by annual or lifetime caps on benefits. Parents are glad to know that their young adult children can remain on the parents' health care policies until they turn 26. But the ACA still needs work; consideration should be given to removing individual mandates and raising the cap on employer mandates. And, of even more importance, the ACA has not put the breaks on escalating health care costs in this country.

Paulette Jordan: One solution to health care for all is Medicaid expansion

Jordan: A lot of businesses aren't always able to afford health insurance. I'd like to see local businesses to have the support to offer health care, whether that's through Medicaid expansion in the state. It would be a huge cost savings. Most businesses want expanded Medicaid. It's just the Republican Party who has said expanding Medicaid would cost more, and people are drinking the Kool Aid.

Paulette Jordan: Repeal Idaho's 'faith healing' exemption

The issue: Idaho has come under national scrutiny as one of just two states with an exemption that protects parents from criminal or civil liability if, due to their religious beliefs, they do not seek medical care for their child and the child dies. The other state is Virginia. According to groups working to change the law, 183 children in Idaho have died under this exemption since it was enacted in the 1970s.

Jordan: "If autonomous adults choose to forgo lifesaving medical treatment for religious reasons, they should be allowed to make that very personal decision. They should not, however, be able to make such a decision for their children. I support the repeal of Idaho's 'faith healing' exemption because, above all else, our laws should protect the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable people in our state."

Paulette Jordan: Expand Medicaid to cover those in state's healthcare gap

"We cannot continue to let hardworking Idahoans go without healthcare," said Governor Otter. "Proposition 2 will provide healthcare to 62,000 Idahoans and it'll bring $400 million of our tax dollars back to Idaho. In addition, Proposition 2 will keep our rural hospitals and county clinics open." Prop 2 will appear on ballots across the state Nov. 6.

Medicaid expansion was a topic during this week's gubernatorial debate. Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan said she is a supporter of Prop 2. Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Brad Little has declined to say whether he will vote for the initiative but said if elected governor, he would respect the will of the voters if they pass Medicaid expansion.

Paulette Jordan: Healthcare should be patient-centered, not profit-centered

Tommy Ahlquist: ObamaCare has been a disaster for doctors and patients

Brad Little: Make behavioral health services more accessible