Thousands of Idahoans, including some of our military veterans, continue to wait for a healthcare plan that meets their needs. The Idaho Heathcare Plan relies on two federal waivers to existing federal law to provide coverage to about 35,000 Idahoans. This would narrow the existing gap for healthcare coverage, but would not eliminate it.
It is not clear whether those waivers would be granted by the federal government even if we pass them. Additionally, the governor wants to raid the Millennium Fund to help foot the bill.
The Idaho Millennium Fund was established as an endowment fund to receive, invest, and disburse funds the State of Idaho is receiving as a result of the master settlement agreement reached with tobacco companies. The master settlement agreement was a class-action lawsuit in which states sued the tobacco companies for marketing to minors via cartoons, sports teams, celebrities, etc. The states prevailed and each year they receive money from this ruling. The money is used to help prevent underage tobacco use and to help educate about the dangers associated with tobacco use.
Idaho has seen major declines in teen smoking, largely due to the education and prevention efforts of so many organization in our schools. If the legislature and the governor are successful in raiding this fund, numerous prevention programs in schools across our state are in jeopardy.
I have been vocal in my opposition of using this funding to expand Medicaid because our legislature has had numerous opportunities to close the gap and utilize state dollars to care for our citizens without having to “rob Peter to pay Paul.”
Last year, the legislature passed a transportation bill that took $15 million out of the general fund and created a surplus eliminator to skim money off the top of our revenue stream (another $27 million) and put towards the roads. If my colleagues have the political will to designate that amount of money to roads then why can’t we do the same thing for healthcare, instead of taking money from the tobacco settlement used to prevent the very healthcare problems that smoking creates?
A good healthcare plan includes prevention efforts, education about healthy lifestyle choices, regular health check ups, sound reproductive education and care, and reliable treatment and supports for catastrophic illness.
This plan to take Millennium Fund money is a reactionary effort and an attempt to patchwork a solution together that may not be sustainable, while removing valuable front-end healthcare tools.
In addition to raiding the Millennium Fund, the governor has not provided the necessary recommendations for other vital health services like rate reimbursements for children with developmental disabilities. In the backdrop of all these cuts to vital services, he and my colleagues across the aisle are promoting huge tax cuts that will negatively affect Idaho families.
Our economy is doing well. Tax payers are not asking for additional tax cuts. What they are asking us to do is to invest those resources wisely, especially in our education system.
The governor’s plan is garnering support from a number of organizations, because of the desperation to get anything passed. I certainly support initiatives to cover our Gap population, but this will be a tough pill to swallow knowing the harm that may come because we aren’t focusing on prevention/education efforts to keep kids off of cigarettes and other substances. 
The Millennium Fund Committee will meet again on February 6 at noon in EW20 to vote on a recommendation to the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee on whether to take almost $11 million from that fund to apply towards the governor’s recommendation for the Idaho Health Care Plan.
I will continue to research this issue and encourage my colleagues to find ways to make this a win-win situation instead of a situation where we are winners and losers.