Frye letter: Medicaid expansion

March 24, Uninsured Idahoans: “The fact is, we do what we can do, and you can’t get done what you can’t get done,” said Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley. Stop the double talk, Idaho State Legislature and stop spending Idahoans’ hard-earned and paid tax dollars on another “legislative committee” to study expanding Medicaid. That has already been done. And it has been done twice, and both committees recommended expanding Medicaid.

Spending another $5.4 million of tax money on “studying” this subject is a huge waste of that money for a problem that can be solved, just by accepting the $135 million that is already paid for by our tax dollars and putting those already paid tax dollars to use by expanding Medicaid. It makes sense and will help the very people that pay your salaries and buy your health insurance.

If we were to implement Gov. Butch Otter’s plan, which would cost the taxpayers $30 to $35 million, added to the $135 million we are already refusing to accept from the federal government, that comes to $170 million thrown out the window and the state of Idaho has not solved their problem.

Shame on you, state legislators.

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Frye letter: Medicaid expansion."