Work opportunities for Idaho young people have contracted over the last decade, multiple reports indicate.
An Annie E. Casey Foundation report on youth unemployment released today shows that Idahoans aged 16 to 24 have a slightly higher employment rate than the national average. But that seemingly good news masks significant problems for Idaho young people, with respect to employment.
The report highlights several things: that it’s become harder for young people to find work of any kind, and that without early work experience, it’s more difficult for young people to pursue and build careers later in life. Continue Reading →
Idaho lawmakers will be back at the Capitol this week as new legislator orientation gets underway and for the organizational session (that’s when legislators vote on party leadership).
We know it’s a month before the 2013 legislative session officially kicks off, but we wanted to introduce you to some lawmakers via Twitter.
We’ve compiled a list of 68 current, former and newly elected lawmakers who are on Twitter. They don’t all tweet regularly, but here’s a list of handles and Twitter bios from some of the lawmakers who use it often: Continue Reading →
Idaho lawmakers are in Boise this week ahead of the 2013 legislative session, which starts January 7. Beginning this afternoon, there’s a new legislator orientation for the more than 30 percent of lawmakers who are newcomers.
Legislators meet behind closed doors Wednesday evening to determine leadership positions for the coming session. The contest for the top job in the House is closely watched, with current Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) and Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke (R-Oakley) vying for the post. Continue Reading →
We published a post last week about the effects of the Affordable Care Act on Idaho’s uninsured. In it, we mentioned that federal tax credits will be available to people purchasing insurance through health insurance exchanges, if their incomes are less than four times the federal poverty level. For a family of four, 400 percent of the 2012 federal poverty level is $92,200.
After that post went up, we got a tweet from a reader asking about the subsidy thresholds for other family sizes. Here you go:
Karen Early is the director of corporate communications for Blue Cross of Idaho, the state's largest insurer.
One of Blue Cross of Idaho’s new television commercials opens with a chirpy jingle. “You’re protected in the sun, you’re protected when it rains,” the song begins. The pitch is clear: this is the insurer for you, no matter your lifestyle.
For Blue Cross of Idaho, this is more than an advertisement. It’s a big step.
“This is the first time the company has ever, in its 65 plus years of existence, actually gone out with a brand campaign to explain who we are,” says Karen Early, the company’s director of corporate communication.
She says it’s a direct response to the Affordable Care Act. “Literally, the day after the bill passed was the day we all looked at each other and said, ‘Things are going to change a lot,’ Early says. Continue Reading →
Blue Cross of Idaho's "Blue Hat" campaign is the company's first-ever effort to build brand awareness among individual consumers.
The federal health care law often called Obamacare is moving steadily forward, despite pushback in conservative states like Idaho. In addition to everything else, the law means big changes for the individual insurance market. As of 2014, millions more people will be shopping for health insurance for themselves and their families. And insurers are already jockeying for that new business.
State leaders have yet to determine whether Idaho will establish a state-based health insurance exchange or expand Medicaid eligibility. But there is quite a lot we do know about the likely effects of the federal health care law in Idaho.
About 46 percent of Idahoans get insurance through their employers, but that’s not the part of the market that will be most significantly affected by the law. “The most dramatic changes that happen under the Affordable Care Act happen in the individual market,” explains Karen Pollitz of the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation.
Through its online health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges, along with its subsidies and penalties, the law seeks to draw many more people into purchasing insurance in the individual market.
One unofficial kickoff to Idaho’s annual legislative session is the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference. And it’s already here. On Dec. 5, the business group hosts its day-long conference,packed with national and local speakers.
Last year, his high-energy, fiery talk, critical of the federal government, drew cheers from the standing-room-only audience. Casey was critical of Congress and the Obama administration, saying government “lurches from decision to decision.” He said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are abusing the political system.
Casey called for a revamped tax code and more oversight of federal regulators, and he urged Idaho’s Attorney General to “sue the federal government more often.” Continue Reading →
Aberdeen's mayor, Morgan Anderson, at a local American Legion Auxiliary event earlier this year
Tomorrow, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and a half-dozen state officials will visit a small eastern Idaho town of fewer than 2,000 people. That town – Aberdeen – will be Idaho’s Capital for a Day. Mayor Morgan Anderson says he hopes to use some of the time to explain to state leaders why he’s concerned for his town’s very survival.
StateImpact first wrote about Aberdeen just over a year ago, when J.R. Simplot Company announced plans to close three of its existing potato processing plants and replace them with a new facility in Caldwell. Simplot touts the new plant’s efficiency, but one result of the closures will be the loss of more than 500 jobs. Nearly 300 of those employees report to work in Aberdeen, and many live in the town.
Gov. Otter has until Dec. 14 to decide if Idaho will create it's own health insurance exchange.
Back in July, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter put together a group of insurance industry stakeholders, business owners and lawmakers to figure out if Idaho should create its own health insurance exchange or let the federal government take the lead.
The work group has since recommended Idaho create its own state-based exchange. It spent at least $166,368 to come to that conclusion.
Invoices to the Idaho Department of Insurance that StateImpact obtained through Idaho’s public information law show the greatest cost to the state was through hiring consultants and experts. Continue Reading →
About StateImpact
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives. Learn More »
