Idaho Matters

What happens when people are dropped from Medicaid in Idaho?

Since April 1, over 23,000 people have lost their Medicaid health insurance in Idaho. Idaho Matters takes a look at what this means for people without coverage and how local clinics are responding.

Broadcast on:: 13 Apr 2023

Stethoscopes are pictured in an intensive care unit.

Since April 1, over 23,000 people have lost their Medicaid health insurance in Idaho.

According to Idaho Health and Welfare, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the department was not allowed to drop people from Medicaid even if they were no longer eligible for the coverage. It was called "Medicaid Protection."

But last December, Congress reversed that decision and said states could remove people who no longer qualified, and since then Health and Welfare has been re-evaluating the cases of over 153,000 people to see if they can stay on the program.

So what happens now for the already dropped from Idaho Medicaid? And for the thousands more expected to lose coverage in the coming weeks?

Mindy Hong, the Executive Director of the Idaho Association of Free and Charitable Clinics and Steve Davis, the Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Community Health, joined Idaho Matters to help answer these questions.