Last summer, a coalition of Idaho legislators led by Representative Megan Blanksma proposed a cynical new tax-hike that would force Idaho property taxpayers to foot the bill for Medicaid Expansion.

Sadly, today Governor Little adopted a version of the Blanskma Tax Plan in his State of the State address.

The Governor should reconsider his support of this plan and the Idaho legislature should reject it.

This tax-hike is completely unnecessary. As Governor Little himself previously acknowledged, it is possible to fund Medicaid Expansion in a way that would leave property taxes untouched. A full 90 percent of Medicaid Expansion is paid for by the federal government. The final 10 percent of the cost can be covered in two simple ways:

·    By using cost-savings generated by Medicaid Expansion. (Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare and Department of Correction save millions of dollars as a result of Medicaid Expansion).

·    By tapping the Millennium Fund, an endowment generated by Idaho’s settlement with the tobacco industry.

With these common-sense funding sources available, there’s no good reason to adopt Rep. Blanksma’s proposed tax hike.

The Blanksma Tax is not what 61% of Idaho voters had in mind when they voted for Medicaid Expansion. Sadly, the tax-hike appears to be a cynical attempt to play politics with people's healthcare and to discredit the Medicaid Expansion program.

The vast majority of Idahoans voted for Medicaid Expansion because they know the policy is an economic no-brainer. Expansion will bring $400 million federal dollars back to Idaho every single year. A 2018 study by University of Idaho economist Steven Peterson predicts Medicaid Expansion will create 5,000 new jobs and generate more than $20 million in new state tax revenue every year.

In exchange for these massive benefits, the cost to Idaho is just a tiny fraction of the state budget that can be paid for easily without raising property taxes. Sign the petition and tell Idaho legislators to vote NO on the Blanksma Tax Hike