Friday, April 5, 2024

Sine Die Around the Corner

The Idaho Legislature saw a shortened but very active week with both the House and Senate finishing their business. Both chambers recessed until April 10 when they are expected to address any vetoes and adjourn sine die.

Presentation on Women’s Healthcare Workforce Challenges Moves Forward

Last week we took a deep dive into the work by IMA and our colleagues to hold a joint hearing by House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees. You can read that in its entirety by clicking HERE.

Fortunately, on April 3, 2024, that event came to fruition but instead to a public audience. A bipartisan group of 27 legislators, nearly a quarter of the legislature, attended the hearing on a very busy morning in the Capitol. Led by IMA CEO Susie Keller and Idaho Hospital Association CEO Brian Whitlock, legislators and members of the public heard firsthand stories regarding impacts on workforce and healthcare system because of Idaho’s abortion laws.

Using data compiled by the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative, a startling datapoint was highlighted – from August 2022 to November 2023, between 40-60 Ob/Gyns have either left the state or retired from the workforce. It is important to remember, Idaho already ranked near the bottom in the country in physician workforce. Susie Keller said it best, “Idaho is digging itself into a physician workforce hole that will take many years, if not decades, to fix. But before we can begin to backfill the hole, we first must stop digging! We need to stabilize our environment before we can start to recover.”

This point was followed in a complementary fashion by Dr. Sara Thomson and Dr. Jim Souza who explained that many more Ob/Gyns are considering leaving Idaho, but the difficulties don’t stop with retention. Idaho is also at a unique disadvantage with recruitment as we lack an Ob-Gyn residency program and out of state applicants have dramatically decreased. Open positions take twice as long to fill or remain vacant.

You can view the full presentation by clicking HERE.



IMA would like to thank everyone who participated and made the event on April 3 possible, including those presenting - Dr. Sara Thomson, Dr. Loren Colson, Dr. Megan Kasper, Dr. Jim Souza, Valor Health CEO Brad Turpen, and Norm Varin from PacificSource.

24-Hour Neurocognitive Crisis Response Holds Signed by Governor

On April 2, Governor Little signed SB 1247 into law creating a new 24-hour crisis response hold for patients experiencing a neurocognitive disorder, like Alzheimer’s or Dementia, and are in danger of harming themselves or others. The bill would allow law enforcement or medical professionals to place them in this temporary status.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of four IMA members - Dr. Jessica Kroll, Dr. Nicole Fox, Dr. Kara Kuntz, and Dr. Abhilash Desai. The four physicians have recognized a need for reform for some time now. Pulling in experiences from other states they put the wheels in motion last year as Dr. Fox, Dr. Kroll and Dr. Heather Hammerstedt submitted a resolution to change IMA policy at the 2023 House of Delegates. The resolution passed unanimously, and the group began meeting with the bill sponsor, Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) and a large group of stakeholders.



The four physicians spent countless hours meeting, drafting, and amending legislative language that all stakeholders could support, and were involved during each committee hearing. The law has an effective date of October 1, 2024 – almost one year to the day that they presented this concept to the IMA House of Delegates. SB 1247 is a perfect example of what the legislative process should look like. Thank you, Dr. Jessica Kroll, Dr. Nicole Fox, Dr. Kara Kuntz, and Dr. Abhilash Desai for all of your time and effort on this very important issue.

Legislation Prohibiting Public Funds for Gender-Affirming Care Signed into Law

HB 668 was signed into law on March 28, prohibiting public funds from being used for gender-affirming care. This includes all individuals, regardless of age, enrolled in Medicaid or state employees and their families enrolled in the state’s insurance plan.



HB 668 will set up another costly legal battle for the State of Idaho as the law will certainly be challenged in court. Similar legislation has been challenged in other states and has never become law, as it has been found to violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equal protection. This violation was described in detail during a Senate State Affairs hearing.

With a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024, along with the legal precedence established in other states, IMA remains hopeful that HB 668 will never be implemented. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.

Additional Funding for Rural Physician Incentive Program (RPIP)

On April 2, both the full House and Senate passed SB 1455, to provide an additional $500,000 in one-time funding for the Rural Physician Incentive Program (RPIP) - a priority directly from Governor Little.

RPIP provides loan repayment for physicians serving in a designated Health Professional Shortage Areas in Idaho. With a focus on primary care medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatric specialties, physicians are eligible to receive up to $100,000 in loan repayment over a four-year period.



IMA has been a longtime advocate for RPIP funding and thanks Governor Little for his support.

Throughout the Legislative Session, IMA monitors legislation and provides status updates every Friday. Click here to view the IMA Bill Tracker.