By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
The House Health and Welfare Committee moved forward two bills Wednesday targeting public assistance programs.
Committee chairman Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, introduced a bill that would mandate any eligibility criteria, including financial eligibility, for a public assistance program must be provided in statute rather than rule.
That’s important because administrative rule changes currently only require approval from one chamber of the legislature, while statute changes require approval from both the Senate and the House.
Should Vander Woude’s bill pass, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare would not be able to change public assistance program criteria without legislative approval via statute.
The bill would apply to all public assistance programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP or food stamps.
The bill still must get a full hearing before moving forward.
Work requirements for SNAP
Rep. Kevin Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, sponsored House Bill 161, which would add additional work requirements to Idahoans who are collecting SNAP benefits.
SNAP already requires most recipients to either work or participate in an employment training program, in addition to meeting income requirements.
“I made it a point in my campaign that I was going to get people working, for two main reasons,” Andrus told the committee. “It helps the state with lack of funds to support them, but also to improve the tax base. But the biggest reason to me is when people are working, they have so much more value in their lives.”
The committee voted to move the bill forward to the House floor in a party-line vote.
The legislation applies to “able-bodied adults” and would require them to work a minimum of 30 hours per week to receive SNAP benefits. It would prohibit IDHW from granting “geographic waivers” without the Legislature’s approval, prohibit “no-good-cause” waivers, and implement mandatory employment training. Geographic waivers are granted when an area has an insufficient number of jobs. A good-cause waiver is granted when the department determines a valid reason exists for the person.
The bill would not apply to students or people with disabilities. IDHW would be able to grant exemptions for up to 20% of enrollees for issues such as a lack of transportation or pregnancy.
IDHW Bureau Chief with the Division of Welfare’s self-reliance program Kristin Matthews expressed some concerns to the committee.
“When federal regulations are changed in statute, we are required to comply with that, and having to bring bills before this body would put us in a position where we would have to wait to get those changed,” Matthews said. “If we are unable to comply with new regulations, we could be at risk of having our plans suspended or not being able to fully operate that plan, and the funding that is tied to that plan could be withheld until we are able to come back into compliance with new rules that have been passed.”
Rep. Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, argued the state does run several conformity bills every year to bring the state into compliance with federal law.
Unwinding Medicaid
On Tuesday, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee took up another public assistance program issue. During the COVID-19 federal health emergency, Congress allowed continuous enrollment and states weren’t allowed to remove anyone from Medicaid. That provision has since changed and starting April 1, states can remove ineligible participants.
The state’s administrator for the Division of Welfare, Shane Leach, outlined plans for the approximately 150,000 people enrolled in Medicaid, some of whom may no longer be eligible.
Leach said IDHW reached out to the first 30,000 recipients who might not be eligible, and they are in the process of redetermining eligibility. Those people have 60 days to respond to the department before they could lose their coverage.
Medicaid recipients must earn income under 138% of the federal poverty level; be pregnant with income under 138% of the federal poverty level; or be blind or disabled, or age 65 and older, within specific income requirements.
In committee, Leach explained that CMS, the federal Medicaid agency, is asking states not to do renewals for more than 1/9th of total Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, recipients in any one month during the unwinding period, to avoid backing up the system.
Sen. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland, pushed Leach on the number of renewals they could do monthly, asking if they could hire a private firm to increase the number.
Leach said the department had considered that, but it would cost more to onboard some of those contractors than their current customer service representatives, and contractors may be limited in what they could do.
“But the cost to the state… Have you calculated the cost to the state for continuing to pay benefits for people who are no longer eligible for that?” Lee said. “I understand that there is a short-term cost, but again, we are potentially month after month after month paying for individuals who are no longer eligible.”
The committee took no action Tuesday after the presentation.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.
