Idaho lawmakers: Act on health insurance plan

Members of the House Health & Welfare committee Thursday offered impassioned statements of support for action to address the needs of the 78,000 low-income Idahoans who currently can’t get healthcare. The committee is expected to take up a bill Monday. Some of their comments:

Rep. Kelley Packer, R-McCammon: “I want to publicly recognize that there is a need and we that we have responsibility as a legislature to find the right solution to that need. I do not want to go home without voting on something… for this population.”

Rep. Merrill Beyeler, R-Leadore: “Like everyone else, I’ve received emails, I’ve received letters. I’ve kept every one of those letters just to remind me of the people we come to serve. I think it’s time for a very thorough and deliberate conversation and debate on this subject.”

Rep. Eric Redman R-Athol: “I don’t want to leave here without getting something accomplished. We might not all have the same idea or ideas but I do want to get something accomplished and I think we all do.”

Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, the House majority caucus leader: “I’ve seen the ball move from last year to this year to where we are at now in this session, and I do not want to go home with doing nothing.”

Rep. Brandon Hixon, R-Caldwell: “I too do not want to go home and leave this population hanging in the wind. These are major, major discussions that are taking place in this topic. I have seen more movement this session on this topic than I’ve ever seen in my time since being here, since this issue was brought forward. … Hang in there with us, and we’ll get something back here on Monday. We’ll make it happen.”

Rep. Caroline Troy, R-Genesee: “This is an opportunity for the Idaho legislature to be considerate in ways that will fundamentally change how Idaho does health care. I think we need to have an opportunity to really review what those options are.”

Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa: “There is a level of commitment, not only from this committee, but certainly from leadership. … I believe the caucus as a whole has a commitment to provide something. I think you just have to drill down into what exactly we want it to look like.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Idaho lawmakers: Act on health insurance plan."