BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho residents flocked to the Capitol on Friday to urge lawmakers to provide health care to the state’s neediest citizens, address Idaho’s broken medical transportation system and reform religious exemptions.
The testimony was part of the annual listening session hosted by the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees.
In 2016, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare chose San Diego-based Veyo to arrange transportation for Medicaid patients to go to non-emergency health care appointments.
However, testifiers told lawmakers that the contract has resulted in long delays, untrained drivers and unsafe working conditions.
Rep. Fred Wood of Burley, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, said that he expects to hold another hearing soon to learn more about Veyo’s challenges.
Other testifiers urged the panel to support expanding Medicaid eligibility for the estimated 78,000 Idahoans who don’t have health insurance. Others urged lawmakers to repeal the law that allows parents to withhold medical care from children for religious reasons.
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