JFAC approves $415.2 million in FY2025 Medicaid supplementals and $674.2 million in FY2026 Medicaid adjustments and enhancements

At a meeting of the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, members approved a FY2025 supplemental package totaling $415,226,800 to cover Medicaid obligations and a separate FY2026 set of program maintenance and enhancements totaling $674,192,600.

The FY2025 supplemental motion included one‑time funding for a federally required managed‑care external quality review (EQR), implementation costs tied to the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan, an updated Medicaid expenditure forecast, a capitation‑rate increase for the behavioral‑health plan, and additional hospital assessment funds to draw down federal matching dollars.

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee that the managed‑care EQR is a CMS requirement for states with managed‑care organizations and that Idaho’s request reflects current obligations for four plans. She said of capitation rates for the behavioral‑health plan, “The capitation rate is a per person kind of set cost,” and that higher enrollment and acuity drove the supplemental request.

The FY2026 package contains ongoing appropriations or base adjustments tied to many of the same items: converting the hospital assessment supplement into an ongoing appropriation, adding federal‑mandated CAHPS surveys, funding an actuary contract amendment, continuing the EQR contract, advancing the MMIS (Medicaid management information system) procurement, and a large population‑forecast adjustment that accounts for FMAP changes, caseload, utilization and pricing assumptions.

Committee discussion repeatedly emphasized that parts of the package…