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Senate committee advances bill trimming special refugee medical-assistance eligibility from 150% to 133% of FPL
Summary
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 199 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation, approving a change that narrows Refugee Medical Assistance eligibility from 150 percent to 133 percent of the federal poverty guideline, the sponsor said.
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 199 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation after debate about refugee medical assistance eligibility.
Senator Keiser, sponsor of House Bill 199, told the committee the bill would move an existing administrative rule on the Refugee Medical Assistance Program into statute and remove an extra eligibility allowance. Under current practice, refugees had a temporary eligibility cap of roughly 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline in the one-year Refugee Medical Assistance program; the bill reduces that cap to 133 percent of the federal poverty guideline to match the threshold that applies to most other Idaho residents, the sponsor said.
Keiser said Idaho receives approximately 1,000 refugees per year and that only 19 people currently qualified for the higher-eligibility band. He told the committee total direct medical costs for the program in 2024 were about $223,000 while the program's total administrative cost was over $1,100,000; he described the change as a way to limit program costs and to make eligibility consistent across residents.
Multiple witnesses opposed the change. Holly Beach, communications manager at the Office for Refugees, told the committee refugee arrivals "become our neighbors, our friends, employees, colleagues, business owners, and Idaho taxpayers" and that resettlement organizations routinely meet families who fled violence and persecution. Beach said refugee medical assistance "does not cost Idaho taxpayers additional money" and warned that narrowing the program would make it harder for a small group of new arrivals to get needed care during their first year.
Dr. Angela Banks, a family-medicine physician in Boise who said she cares for refugees, urged the committee to reject the measure, saying that for the small number affected even modest barriers to care could be devastating. Hannah Habineza, a refugee medical case manager at Foseco Health who said she arrived through the refugee resettlement program, also opposed the change and said losing coverage could force refugees to choose between work and health care and slow integration to self-sufficiency.
Senator Wintrow opposed advancing the bill, arguing that the higher eligibility threshold provided an additional boost to people arriving after persecution and that the modest cost was justified by quicker integration. Other senators including Senator Lenny and Senator Blaylock said the program served a very small number of people and that aligning the threshold at 133 percent was fair and fiscally sensible.
After debate the committee voted to send House Bill 199 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation. The committee did not alter the text in committee; the bill as presented would change statutory language to match the lower eligibility threshold.
