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Senate Health and Welfare Committee advances H 591 to repeal obsolete indigent-eligibility code
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send H 591 to the Senate floor; the bill would repeal obsolete language in § 31-3502 Idaho Code tied to a county medical indigent program repealed in 2022. Testimony from the Idaho Hospital Association cited rising uncompensated care under current programs.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on March 2 voted to send H 591 to the full Senate with a do-pass recommendation. Senator Harris presented the bill as housekeeping to remove obsolete language in § 31-3502 Idaho Code tied to the county medical indigent program and said an emergency clause would make the repeal effective July 1, 2026. He told the committee the change has no fiscal impact.
Senator Harris said the county indigent program language remained only to settle final administrative tasks after the underlying program was repealed in 2022 by H 735, and that those administrative steps are complete. Senator Wintrow asked why the fund was repealed; Senator Harris answered that the fund was made unnecessary by Medicaid expansion.
Toni Lawson of the Idaho Hospital Association testified in support of H 591, saying most patients who had relied on county indigent programs now qualify for Medicaid because of expansion. Lawson told the committee that, since 2021, uncompensated care for state programs had risen by more than 16 percent, unreimbursed care due to bad debt had increased by 61 percent, and the amount hospitals provided in charity care had more than tripled.
Senator Shippy moved to send H 591 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation; Senator Wintrow seconded. The motion carried by voice vote. Chair VanOrden adjourned the committee at 3:10 p.m. The bill will next be scheduled for consideration by the full Senate.
