Reclaim Idaho Response to Medicaid Expansion Cost Projections. Idaho Dispatch Retraction
By Greg Pruett • January 26, 2021Note: Idaho Dispatch would like to state that Luke Mayville, Co-Founder of Reclaim Idaho did respond to our original article but we did not see his email prior to publication. Our apologies to Mr. Mayville and a full retraction and explanation are listed below the main article.
Last year a new projection was made on the cost of Medicaid Expansion in the state of Idaho through a report known as the Milliman Report.
In that report, the actuarial firm Milliman projected that the costs of Medicaid Expansion would cost approximately 90% more than their original report released in 2018. Idaho Dispatch reached out to a number of lawmakers and organizations regarding the report and their responses to it.
One of the organizations Idaho Dispatch reached out to was Reclaim Idaho.
Reclaim Idaho was the main organization that put Medicaid Expansion onto the ballot in November of 2018 through their ballot initiative effort which they had spent months gathering signatures for. In the end, just over 60% of the people who voted in November of 2018 voted for Medicaid Expansion.
Fast forward to 2021 and the Milliman Report projections and Mayville has responded to the report.
Here is the full quote sent to Idaho Dispatch from Mayville:
We are in the midst of a healthcare crisis and an economic crisis, with tens of thousands of Idahoans being laid off and losing their health insurance. It shouldn’t be surprising that we’re seeing more Idaho families rely on Medicaid Expansion as a safety net. We’re also seeing that more people than expected were in desperate need of medical attention after being denied access to healthcare for over six years.
In a time of so much need and so much economic uncertainty for families, it is unbelievable that Idaho lawmakers are considering cutting Medicaid. Even if recent budget predictions prove to be true, the Medicaid Expansion program will cost less than 1% of the total Idaho budget.
In his response, Mayville says that the cost of Medicaid is a very small part of the overall budget despite the potential increase.
Idaho Dispatch sent Mayville several follow-up questions in response to his quote. We asked Mayville how he believes the state should pay for the increase in cost.
Here is what Mayville send Idaho Dispatch:
The truth is that there is currently no reason to worry about Idaho’s Medicaid budget. The latest analysis from Close the Gap Idaho finds that Idaho’s Medicaid budget will enter the next fiscal year with a $63 million surplus. Even though the cost of Medicaid Expansion in the coming year is predicted to be greater than originally expected, the federal government has responded to COVID-19 by boosting our state’s Medicaid funds by over $100 million per year. This additional federal funding, which the Biden administration will continue to provide until 2022, is more than enough to make up for the additional costs of Medicaid Expansion.
Idaho Dispatch also asked Mayville what other ways he believes Idaho’s government should help those who are medically in need.
This was Mayville’s response:
The legislature should never have attempted to attach wasteful “work requirements” to the program. The problem with these restrictions is that, in all the states where they’ve been tried, they’ve kicked thousands of hardworking people off their healthcare coverage simply because people didn’t fill out the correct paperwork. It’s a bureaucratic mess and it wastes millions of taxpayer dollars. Fortunately for Idaho, these restrictions never received the necessary approval from the federal government. So for now, Medicaid Expansion remains unrestricted. Our lawmakers should leave it alone.
Idaho Dispatch Retraction and Correction:
On January 13th, Idaho Dispatch posted an article titled, “Report: Medicaid Expansion Projected to Cost 90% More Than Original Estimates.”
Prior to posting the article, Idaho Dispatch had reached out to a number of lawmakers and organizations regarding the Milliman report on which the article was based on. One of the organizations we reached out to was Reclaim Idaho which spearheaded the effort to put Medicaid Expansion onto the ballot in 2018.
In our article, we said that Reclaim Idaho did not respond to our request for comment. However, Luke Mayville, Co-Founder of Reclaim Idaho did respond on December 20th.
Idaho Dispatch did not receive Mayville’s original email in our regular inbox that we can find and we are unclear what happened to it at this time. Mayville emailed us again on January 20th and that email went into our spam folder. Here is a screenshot of that email:
It’s possible Mayville’s original message went to our spam folder. Spam messages are automatically deleted after 30 days and Idaho Dispatch does not regularly check our spam folder. The day we checked the spam folder was January 21st which means if Mayville’s message went to the spam folder we can no longer see it because it would have been over 30 days.
Idaho Dispatch sent Mayville an apology for not getting his quote in the original article and promised to update it with his quote and also do this article as its own.
Tags: Luke Mayville, Medicaid expansion, Milliman Report, Reclaim Idaho, Retraction
9 thoughts on “Reclaim Idaho Response to Medicaid Expansion Cost Projections. Idaho Dispatch Retraction”
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Are you kidding me? Have you looked at the Idaho unemployment rate? It is one of the best in the nation. The original Paycheck Protection Program under President Trump made it possible to keep employees on payrolls with benefits. Where is Luke Mayville’s data?
Also, Mayville is an out and out liar. No Idaho citizen has been denied healthcare. There is no such thing. Some may not have been able to afford it, or budgeted unwisely and did not have money for healthcare, or would not use a loan for healthcare, but to claim people were denied is a lie.
Like the true liberal he is, Mayville makes the argument that a budget surplus exonerates increased Medicaed spending, forgetting the taxpayers who make that surplus possible and who would like to make their own decisions on how to spend their money.
It is laughable to hear his argument about work requirements. Hard working Idahoans work every day so that others can suck from the government teat.
Mayville IS a liar. He is part of the project to move leftist activists to conservative areas to effect change. Nothing he does has any basis in truth or good. He will say or do anything to accomplish his goals.
When interest rates were high, insurance co’s made money from investing the premiums, and insurance was cheap and easy to use.
Interest rates went down, Ins. co.’s got greedy, and made it harder for doctors to recover their fees, and harder to use.
Doctor Practices had to hire staff, becoming offices and eventually join with other doctors, becoming a business. Which became greedy.
Big Parma also eroded the Practice of Medicine.
And now, it’s all about money. Government regulation and socialization…
Most doctors have less control than a burger flipper, and about as much fundamental understanding of health and nutrition.
Socialized medicine will not have a good outcome, elderly and sick will only be thought of as burdens. Examine BOTH parts of Obamacare, which Bernie wrote.
The answer is to return control to small Doctor Practices.
Why don’t politicians ever try to fix the underlying issues, instead of growing government and creating monopolies???
I consider myself a “conservative” however, Medicaid is the one “socialist” type program I want to see. I have know too many people who have not been able to afford proper medical care because of the greed of the “non profits” and pharmaceutical companies. My friends are hard working and go withoput necessary medicines because of the hassle of qualifying. I would like to see some adjustments to the program including LOW co-pays for use, especially Emergency care, like with regular insurance.
Please, cite a link to an example of someone who has not been able to afford proper medical care. Your answer shows that you actually do not understand Medicaid, medical care, or the expansion that Mayville rammed through. “Conservatives” like you are why Idaho is going to the dogs.
Socialists like Mayville will continue to push socialized medicine in Idaho and anyplace else they can grab a foothold. The voters of Idaho were sold a bill of goods with huge amounts of money spent on false advertising with this referendum and should have been more prudent in understanding that medical costs continue to grow every year. Medical care is responsible for 18% of U.S. GDP and growing annually. Why anyone could have thought that Millmans projections would be on target is a joke. The only reason that Medicaid costs have not exceeded the is because of the federal funds that will be poured into Idaho’s coffers. The big question is what happens when these funds are no longer available? Who will pay the Bill? The taxpayers.
Closet socialists like Randall Taylor don’t seem to realize government and government cronyism is what made health care expensive in the first place.
Never fall for these fake fake socialist lefty groups that claim they’re grass roots Idaho, they’re out of state communist funded takeover plans to destroy Red state independence.
Right? Notice the “hippie-type” motorhome designed to look like it is just a ‘coupla good, ol’ boys jes tryin’ to hep they’s neighbers?’ 🙂