Commissioners meet and discuss Medicaid Expansion, paying for water infrastructure and the public defender bill

The Elmore County Commissioners met on Nov. 15 to discuss county matters.

Medicaid Expansion - check your mail!

Representative Megan Blanksma (R) joined the County Commissioners today to explain that some people will be losing their private insurance and can't do anything about it or change it due to 100 percent full-blown Medicaid expansion. According to Blanksma, 135 people in Elmore county will be receiving letters in the mail informing them that they are now on Medicaid. She said that doctors can refuse Medicaid patients or reschedule them on another day. The county may have lost responsibility for caring for the indigent, but may have an increase in other areas. Blanksma said that many people don't realize that Medicaid is not like normal insurance, patients can be required to pay it back. According to Blanksma people don't understand that if they're on medicaid, they come after your assets if for some reason bills can't be paid. "There are a ton of issues, but no one wants to talk about it," Blankma said. For the full story, pick up a copy of the Mountain Home News or click on this link to subscribe to the newspaper's online edition.