On Friday (2/14/25) the House Health and Welfare Committee voted 8 to 7 to send HB 138, Bill to end Medicaid Expansion to the House for a vote. We were extremely disappointed in our two District 8 Representatives voting to send the bill to the house. Rep. Faye Thompson and Rep, Robert Beiswenger need to hear from you now. 

Tell our House representatives to uphold the will of Idaho voters who overwhelmingly voted for Medicaid Expansion and who overwhelmingly support its continuation. This bill will ultimately shut down Medicaid expansion and take health coverage away from nearly 90,000 Idahoans. This is a cruel bill that will create suffering for our fellow idaho citizens. We know not having health care coverage affects your self and your family’s health and can threaten life itself.

Doctor Scott Harris who attended the hearing said this in a letter to Rep. Faye Thompson (Excert): 

“You were hit with a whirlwind of conflicting testimony about cost projections and profitability, and little about the human cost by the proponents. What we know and trust is that the recent U of I study of impacts of Expansion is that it generates $1.5 billion in revenue in Idaho per year. The Idaho Dept of Health and Welfare estimates it ultimately saves $110 million per year. That is not even taking into account the human benefits afforded by preventative care, necessary medications and treatments, all helping to avert late, expensive emergency medical crises for which the community would be largely unreimbursed. Rural communities, such as ours, are particularly hard hit by these costs…

A majority of Medicaid recipients under age 65 are already employed. The Federal Poverty Level of $15,060 for one person is exactly what the earnings would be for working 40 hours per week for one year at the minimum Federal wage of $7.20 per hour.  This will barely cover rent, much less medical insurance.  We saw a crying need for Medicaid Expansion, which is largely accessed now by the working poor, sometimes holding two or three jobs to support their families.”

It is urgent that concerned Idahoans reach out to their own state representatives and ask them to VOTE NO on House Bill 138. Our new email action tool makes this easy. Please consider posting a link on your own social media or sharing our Facebook post. 

You can call your Representatives Today:

Rep. Faye Thompson, 208-332-1054,

Rep. Rob Beiswenger, 208-332-1181,