Today, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter signed the law creating a state health insurance exchange. The Idaho Legislature approved the exchange earlier this month. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal health care reform bill, was signed into law in March of 2010. The law required that insurance exchanges be established and provided options [...]
Earlier this month, I invited blog readers to take part in a two-question poll. I asked whether Idaho should implement a state-operated health insurance exchange, as opposed to deferring to the federal government’s plan for an exchange, and whether the state should expand its Medicaid program, at least for the next three years. I’m sharing [...]
Thanks to all the folks who took part in my two-question poll on a state health insurance exchange and a possible expansion of Medicaid, parts of the Affordable Care Act recently upheld by the Supreme Court. More than 140 people took the time to register their thoughts, and I plan to report in a few [...]
Last night, I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel with Susan Johnson, director for Region 10 of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and Bill Deal, director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. The panel discussion, sponsored by Boise State University and the Idaho Public Health Association, was moderated by Jim [...]
I had the chance to talk about St. Luke’s transformation before many of Idaho’s most influential and visionary executives at an Arid Club breakfast this morning. Here’s my diagnosis of what’s going on now for employers and our challenge to regional leaders.
I’ve been asked to take part in the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce‘s 2012 Legislative Forum this week on health insurance exchanges, and thought I’d share some of my perspective here. What are health insurance exchanges? Health insurance exchanges are new marketplaces intended to create a more organized and competitive market for health insurance by [...]
