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October 19, 2012

Idaho’s Medicaid Work Group Pushes Next Meeting Into November

The Department of Health and Welfare says it’s rescheduling it’s next Medicaid work group meeting on November 9. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter created the panel to study whether Idaho should allow more low income Idahoans on the health care program. Currently, nearly 240,000 Idahoans are on Medicaid. An expansion would add up to 110,000 more […]

Idaho Racks Up $15,000 Bill On Health Insurance Exchange Work Group, So Far

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 […]

October 18, 2012

Thousands Of Idahoans Lose Unemployment Benefits As Federal Program Expires

About 150 Idahoans are exhausting their unemployment insurance benefits each week without finding work, according to the state Department of Labor. In addition, the department this week notified more than 6,000 Idahoans that their unemployment insurance benefits will expire at the end of the year. The benefits coming to an end are provided under the […]

Making The Money Count In Idaho’s Congressional Races

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 […]

Idaho’s Energy Supply Isn’t So Clean After All

Idaho utilities and wind developers are squaring off over the wind industry’s future in the state, as StateImpact explained last month. As part of that reporting, we’ve rolled out stories on Idaho’s electricity supply, including this one on in-state electricity sources. Hydroelectricity accounts for nearly 80 percent of in-state electricity generation, it shows. While that’s […]

October 17, 2012

Props 1, 2, And 3: Voter’s Guide To Idaho’s Controversial Education Laws

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 […]

October 16, 2012

Idaho’s Worker Training Program Is Effective Less Than Half Of The Time

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 […]

October 11, 2012

Idaho Spends Nearly $200,000 To Study Medicaid Expansion

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 […]

October 9, 2012

Another Expert Tells Stakeholders Idaho Has Run Out Of Time To Build Health Insurance Exchange

Idaho doesn’t have time to create its own health insurance exchange. Back in August, a state insurance department official explained that to a group studying Idaho’s options for creating an exchange as required under the federal health care reform law. And today, a consultant with KPMG said the same thing. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed […]

October 4, 2012

How Idaho Is Trying To Boost Its Number Of Doctors

A few years ago, the Idaho Board of Education, which oversees colleges and universities in the state, put together a list of priorities to increase the number of doctors in Idaho. While nearly every state in the country is facing a shortage of doctors to a certain extent, there are fewer doctors per capita in […]

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