Primary Health says it won’t use Labrador to lobby state officials after all
Primary Health Medical Group will not use former congressman Raúl Labrador as a lobbyist, the company announced Thursday.
As the Statesman originally reported Tuesday, Labrador registered on Tuesday to lobby on medical issues for Primary Health as well as for Independent Doctors of Idaho Inc. He had already been registered to lobby on medical issues for Treasure Valley Hospital, which he has done since at least 2019, according to state filings.
Labrador, who served four terms in the U.S. House representing western Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, then ran unsuccessfully for governor before chairing the Idaho Republican Party, was appointed Jan. 12 to the Central District Health board by the new GOP majority on the three-member Ada County Commission.
Primary Health didn’t say why it apparently changed its mind about Labrador. CEO David L. Peterman declined to comment, referring a reporter to a statement emailed by company spokesperson Chryssa Rich. The statement hinted that Labrador’s stances on COVID-19 prevention may have played a role:
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have enforced the strictest COVID-19 mitigation strategies in our clinics and offices and have publicly advocated for the same in many forums,” Rich said. “We remain dedicated to these efforts today and going forward.”
Labrador has called the use of masks “overrated.” He came under fire last month after being photographed at a Boise mall while not wearing a mask, and was criticized in 2017 when, during a Lewiston town hall, he said that “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.”
Labrador declined to talk about his clients in a phone call Thursday but said the team at Primary Health was “a good group of people.”
Nancy Powell, executive director of Independent Doctors of Idaho, said she hired Labrador for help navigating the new Idaho Patient Act. The law changed billing requirements and set deadlines for providers to submit their bills to insurers. Many of her providers needed extension to meet the law’s deadlines, Powell said, and the physicians group wants some modifications to the law.
His COVID-19 stance “is not why I hired him,” she said. “I should have maybe done my homework on his position on COVID, but that’s not my intention is to have him do COVID work.”
Treasure Valley Hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After Labrador’s appointment to the health board last week, the county commission was accused of violating Idaho’s open meeting law after it appeared the decision had been made before the commission meeting by new commissioners Ryan Davidson and Rod Beck.
Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor is acting as a special prosecutor to review whether any laws have been violated.
The commission reaffirmed Labrador’s appointment Tuesday. The appointment must now go to county commissioners of the other counties represented by Central District Health’s board. That process can take a few weeks. If seven votes affirming Labrador come in, he will be on the board, which makes health decisions for Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties.
He would replace then-Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo, who resigned from the board at the end of her term as commissioner. Lachiondo had been a vocal supporter of mask orders, including one in Ada County that remains in effect.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 5:09 PM.
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