Health

Idaho Joint Legislative Oversight Committee

Idaho’s direct care workforce is in ‘crisis,’ state legislative panel hears

BY: - September 22, 2023

Staffing in Idaho’s direct care workforce — those who care for people with disabilities and older Idahoans — is in “crisis,” the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee heard in testimony on Friday at the Idaho State Capitol in downtown Boise. The committee heard follow-ups to a February report issued by the Office of Performance Evaluations that […]

This illustration is a 3D graphic representation of a spherical-shaped, measles virus particle

Measles case reported in Idaho resident who was exposed during international travel

BY: - September 20, 2023

An Idahoan unvaccinated for measles has been confirmed as positive for the virus, public health agencies announced in a news release on Wednesday. While infectious, the adult male was in the Boise Airport on Sept. 13 and in the Nampa area on Sept. 14 and 15, the release said. He was hospitalized and is recovering […]

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol

Americans sickened by radioactive waste press Congress for action on assistance

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Victims of nuclear contamination rallied in the nation’s capital on Wednesday in support of bipartisan legislation that would extend compensation for those harmed by radioactive waste. U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, held a rally and press conference outside the U.S. Capitol as part […]

health insurance form

Lost Medicaid this year? You can get insurance through Idaho’s subsidized state marketplace

BY: - September 19, 2023

Anyone who has lost access to Medicaid as Idaho removes people from the program this year can now enroll in health insurance policies through Your Health Idaho, the state’s insurance exchange that offers tax credits. Your Health Idaho announced in a news release Tuesday that it opened a so-called special enrollment period for 90 days […]

COMMENTARY
woman doctor holds hands of female patient

Idaho physicians must have greater discretion over when abortion exceptions are warranted

BY: - September 19, 2023

I have always considered myself pro-choice on the issue of abortion for all circumstances, but I never had to think about what that really meant until my husband and I were faced with that choice for me and our family last November.    Up until that point, it was a theoretical right, and one I so […]

WA lawmakers push for greater access to fertility services for service members and veterans

BY: - September 18, 2023

Every other Thursday, Dr. Ginny Ryan provides counsel and treatment for veterans, mostly women, whose ability to start families is complicated by the rules of the military in which they served. Veterans and active duty service members unable to conceive children naturally can face hurdles as the military health plan doesn’t cover reproductive assistance, such […]

Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s EMS team staff

You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’

BY: - September 16, 2023

When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services, or EMS, to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are […]

medical bill

Idaho Medicaid, strained with ‘day-to-day operations,’ requests more staff

BY: - September 15, 2023

Idaho Medicaid’s program has asked to add 60 employees, which would grow the program that serves about 400,000 Idahoans on Medicaid to 273 employees. The request, in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s fiscal year 2025 budget request submitted to Gov. Brad Little, comes while the program’s staff count remained stagnant in recent years, […]

judge's gavel

Judge may rule soon on whether Idaho’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law can be enforced

BY: - September 14, 2023

U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to grant a request to temporarily bar Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador from enforcing the state’s so-called “abortion trafficking” law as a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds in federal court. Grasham heard the case in district court in Boise on […]

Women with serious pregnancy complications sue over state abortion bans

BY: - September 12, 2023

Women and physicians in Idaho and Tennessee have sued their home states after they say they were denied abortion care despite being diagnosed with serious, life-threatening medical conditions while pregnant.The lawsuits are led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., which also helped a patient in Oklahoma file a […]

Ammon Bundy, others blocked from moving assets

BY: - September 12, 2023

An Idaho judge has blocked Ammon Bundy and others from moving financial assets for longer in a new lawsuit in Gem County. The lawsuit, brought by St. Luke’s Health System, alleges that Bundy has made fraudulent property transfers to evade collection of millions of dollars in damages awarded to the health system in its initial […]

Idaho Legislature Millennium Fund tobacco settlement

Idaho legislative committee questions drug, vaping prevention program recommendations

BY: - September 12, 2023

Several Idaho legislators serving on a committee that makes recommendations for distributing state funding from tobacco settlements expressed concern Monday with some of the funding proposals. The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Millennium Fund Committee is a group of 10 legislators that makes recommendations for using Idaho’s share of settlement money from class action lawsuits filed against […]