Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
The panel created to look at the feasibility of Idaho creating a health insurance exchange has met four times since August, spending more than $15,000 on supplies and consultants.
Information obtained through Idaho’s public records law, shows Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s health insurance exchange work group has spent the majority of that money on an independent contractor.
Valerie Fend-Boehm has invoiced the state for $12,686.25 as of October 15, 2012, and that doesn’t include her contract work for the first half of this month. Fend-Boehm contracted with Idaho’s Department of Insurance for $85 an hour. Continue Reading →
Idaho's Congressional candidates, top left Jimmy Farris, Raul Labrador, Nicole LeFavour, Mike Simpson
A record amount of money is flowing into this year’s election in states across the country. Idaho, it seems, is not one of them.
Idaho doesn’t have a high-stakes gubernatorial race on the ballot, or a critical senate seat up for grabs. But both of Idaho’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are on the ballot.
Boise State Public Radio reporter Adam Cotterell contributed to this report.
On November 6, voters will decide if Propositions 1, 2 and 3, Idaho’s controversial education laws, stay or go.
In 2011, the Idaho Legislature passed a package of three laws that made sweeping changes to the state’s education system.
The laws were introduced and championed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and are known as Students Come First, though opponents call them the Luna Laws.
United Press International reports Idaho is the best place to be a physician.
The annual rankings compiled by Physicians Practice say Idaho is the best place to practice because of it’s “low rate of disciplinary actions against doctors.”
The Physicians Practice’s Best States to Practice ranking found Idaho, Alabama, Texas, Nevada and South Carolina were the top places for doctors to practice by Physicians Practice, which provides physician practice management advice to more than 150,000 physicians and their practice administrators throughout the United States. Continue Reading →
Meridian-based Western States Equipment uses training dollars in part to pay for its own training school.
The state-sponsored program to train workers who are in danger of being laid-off is successful less than half the time. That’s according to a report released by the Idaho Department of Labor, the agency that oversees the workforce development training fund.
The grant program reimburses businesses that apply for help with the cost of training its existing employees or new hires. It’s paid for by a three percent tax on businesses. To qualify, a company must pay at least $12 per hour and include health benefits. A majority of their product or service must be sold out of their region, or be in the health care field.
The department’s report looks at the workforce development training fund from 2000-2009. It finds of the 160 contracts approved over that time period, 40 percent were rated ‘effective’, while 33 percent were ‘ineffective’. Continue Reading →
In case you missed something, here’s a look back at the five posts you’ve read, shared, or commented on the most. Check them out, and let us know what you think.
Many states don’t have enough doctors. As we’ve been reporting, Idaho has fewer physicians per capita than every state in the nation except Mississippi.
And the shortage of doctors will likely get worse before it gets better, as physicians from the baby boom generation get ready to retire. At least one-third of all doctors in each of the 50 states are 55 or older. In Idaho, nearly 42 percent of physicians are over the age of 55.
Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact Idaho
Click on the image to enlarge. Data source: American Medical Association's 2012 publication 'Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S.'
University of Washington researcher Susan Skillman says the aging workforce means retirement will soon take its toll. “We have great concern about whether the number of providers we have now can be replaced,” Skillman says, “let alone meet this growing demand” for health care services. Continue Reading →
A physician's assistant checks out a patient at a community health center. More than 236,000 Idahoans are currently enrolled in Medicaid, a health care program for low income Americans.
Idaho has spent at least $195,000 to study how expanding Medicaid could impact people and the state’s budget.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has contracted with two out-of-state consulting firms, Utah-based Leavitt Partners and Seattle-based Milliman.
Under the federal health reform law, which was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, states can decide whether to expand their Medicaid programs to include people living at 138 percent of the poverty line. Estimates show, an expansion would add between 97,000 and 111,000 to the health care program in Idaho. More than 236,000 Idahoans are currently on Medicaid. Continue Reading →
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed 13 industry stakeholders and lawmakers to look at whether Idaho should create it’s own health insurance exchange, let the federal government take the reins, or a combination of both.
The Associated Press reports at today’s health insurance exchange meeting, KPMG consultant Robert Mitchell explained why Idaho’s time is up. Continue Reading →
Dr. Ted Epperly is the director and CEO of the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho based in Boise. Epperly wants to see state support increase for med school and residency programs in Idaho.
Dr. Ted Epperly is CEO of the Boise-based Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, a program that gives medical students their last three years of training before they become doctors. He was an Army physician for 21 years before returning to work in his native Idaho. In addition to managing the residency program, Epperly is active in state and national health policy.Â
StateImpact Idaho spoke with him recently for our series on Idaho’s doctor shortage. The state currently has a lower number of doctors per capita than every state in the nation except Mississippi.
We wanted to include more from our interview with Epperly, so here is a portion that has been edited and shortened.
Q: How has medical care in Idaho changed because of the shortage of doctors? Continue Reading →
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