Idaho runs billion-dollar surplus yet can’t perform this basic government function | Opinion
There are certain basic functions of government that we should expect of our state government, such as providing a public education, conducting elections and maintaining public safety.
One of those functions is inspecting nursing homes.
And yet, as Idaho Statesman reporter Noble Brigham uncovered, many nursing homes in Idaho have gone without required inspections for years.
One Boise facility has not had a full inspection in the nearly four years since inspectors found serious problems.
Half of the nursing homes in Idaho still haven’t had a comprehensive inspection since 2020, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
That’s because Health and Welfare can’t maintain a full roster of inspectors to do the job.
The department had the third-highest rate of inspector vacancies in the country, according to a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging report in May.
More than 70% of inspector positions were vacant in Idaho at the time of the report, behind only Kentucky and Alabama, leaving just five inspectors to cover the state.
That’s because the Legislature won’t pay enough to keep them on the job. The federal government, by Health and Welfare’s own account, shares some of the blame for not increasing funding since 2015.
Inspectors were earning $30 an hour, about half what they could earn in the private sector. The state has raised salaries to $33.46 an hour. But it still isn’t enough.
Twelve inspectors have quit or retired in the past three years, leaving Health and Welfare with just eight inspectors right now, about half the number necessary.
Ironically, a chain with one of the most troubled facilities in the state hired away two inspectors, paying them $20 an hour more than they were making with the state.
Gov. Brad Little this year proposed a 14% pay increase, but the Legislature rejected it.
Meanwhile, the state of Idaho had a $100 million surplus at the end of fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30. Last fiscal year, the surplus was $1.4 billion.
The Idaho Legislature has approved $2.7 billion in tax cuts and rebates over the past three years.
And in yet another prime example of Idaho’s “conservative” legislators being penny-wise but pound-foolish, because of the shortage of inspectors, the state has to contract out the services to private contractors.
What does Health and Welfare pay them? About $81 to $97 per hour.
Whenever you hear any state official or politician bragging again about how fiscally conservative Idaho is, just ask them one question:
Is Idaho able to perform even the most basic government functions, such as ensuring our elderly and vulnerable citizens are safe?
If the answer is “no” — and the answer is “no” — tell them to go back and do their jobs.