{"id":423871,"date":"2026-01-22T23:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/423871\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T23:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:34:08","slug":"records-detail-idaho-medicaid-services-that-could-be-cut-but-not-potential-new-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/423871\/","title":{"rendered":"Records detail Idaho Medicaid services that could be cut, but not \u2018potential new costs\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun<\/a>) \u2014 Budget documents from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare show hundreds of thousands of Idahoans receive services that the governor proposed to cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the records don\u2019t paint a clear picture on how much money the state could save if it pursued those cuts \u2014 especially on whether those cuts lead to increased costs elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of these proposed reductions account for any potential new costs within the Medicaid program or other state agencies resulting from reduced access to services and providers, leading to selection of alternative services,\u201d such as emergency rooms and institutional care, \u201cor engagement with other systems,\u201d like the courts, prisons or jails, state health officials wrote, according to a copy of the report that the Idaho Capital Sun obtained through a public records request.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Idaho state lawmakers are delving into what the governor\u2019s proposal for $22 million in cuts to Medicaid \u2014 a public assistance program that provides health insurance to around 345,000 Idahoans \u2014 could look like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Little proposed cutting Medicaid dental coverage, disability services <\/p>\n

In Gov. Brad Little\u2019s budget plan, he called for $22 million in Medicaid cuts<\/a> next fiscal year \u2014 on top of extending cuts to doctor pay rates, which could save $23 million. The $22 million in extra Medicaid cuts could come from a range of rate reductions and service cuts, including potentially ending Medicaid dental coverage for adults, removing home and community-based services, or other rate reductions and service terminations, according to Little\u2019s budget plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The budget documents from the Department of Health and Welfare that detail the programs on the governor\u2019s list say:<\/p>\n

Dental, which covers preventive services, costs about $5.5 million in state general funds. About 231,000 adults use the service at least once a year.\u00a0 Home and community-based services, which are meant to help people with developmental disabilities live outside of institutional settings, cost about $176.5 million in state general funds. More than 16,400 Idahoans use the services at least once a year. <\/p>\n

RELATED | To cut Medicaid budget, governor says Idaho could remove disability, dental services<\/a><\/p>\n

If home and community-based services are cut, the Department of Health and Welfare wrote that it \u201canticipates need for additional institutional providers as current capacity would not be sufficient to transition all Idahoans with disabilities who are served in the community today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The budget records, formally called a B8 form, were sent to the governor\u2019s office on Dec. 31, Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson AJ McWhorter told the Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the governor\u2019s budget plan was unveiled, the state\u2019s revenue rebounded<\/a> \u2014 turning what would\u2019ve been a projected $40 million budget deficit this fiscal year into an estimated budget surplus of $106.2 million. Little\u2019s Press Secretary Joan Vargas said in a statement Wednesday the governor\u2019s budget still includes the extra Medicaid cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Governor\u2019s (fiscal year 2027) budget recommendation still includes the additional $22 million Medicaid spending reduction because the budget is based on the revenue forecast at the end of the fiscal year, not on month-to-month revenue changes,\u201d she told the Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Idaho lawmakers on House Health and Welfare Committee to brainstorm cuts <\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, lawmakers in the House Health and Welfare Committee<\/a> will brainstorm what those extra cuts could look like. The committee is expected to deliver its recommendations to the Legislature\u2019s budget committee, called the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, around early February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, JFAC\u2019s new co-chair Rep. Josh Tanner<\/a> spoke at length to the House Health and Welfare Committee on the process to make the cuts. He urged lawmakers to be cautious about doomsday-like warnings on the impact of cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done several cuts within Health and Welfare, a lot within public health, and it was always like, \u2018This will blow up the world if I do this.\u2019 And then I do it, and we pass it, and it goes through. And then the next year, nothing really happened,\u201d Tanner told lawmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tanner, a Republican from Eagle, has criticized<\/a> Gov. Brad Little\u2019s budget proposal and has previously sponsored a bill<\/a> to repeal Medicaid expansion, which covers about 90,000 Idahoans. Some Republicans say they\u2019re considering repealing Medicaid expansion<\/a> this year, but the governor didn\u2019t include a plan for that in his Medicaid cut proposals<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The House Health and Welfare Committee isn\u2019t planning to meet the rest of this week, said Rep. John Vander Woude<\/a>, the committee\u2019s chairman. He told committee members to look into the budget in the meantime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Health and Welfare Committee chairwoman is unsure of plan to tackle Medicaid cuts <\/p>\n

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee<\/a> plans to hear a presentation on Monday focused on the Department of Health and Welfare\u2019s overall agency budget. Committee chairwoman Sen. Julie VanOrden<\/a> told the Idaho Capital Sun she isn\u2019t sure how her committee will address proposed Medicaid cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we\u2019ll have some discussion on what we have presented on Monday. \u2026 Maybe I\u2019ll kind of poll members and see how they want to address that,\u201d she said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cRight now, at this point, we\u2019re just trying to get through the administrative rules. And we can address budget items when we\u2019re done with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019ll meet with the House committee chairman about how to then proceed.<\/p>\n

In the House Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Don Hall, a Republican from Twin Falls, asked Tanner how JFAC would factor in concerns that cuts could drive up costs elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly it will look good if you can cut budgets on the state level, but if that just cost shifts down to the counties, (the) same citizens are paying the same taxes,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

Tanner encouraged lawmakers to \u201cdig in, not just listening to a lobbyist\u201d or state health officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Idaho Capital Sun<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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