The 2026 Idaho Legislative Session Starts Next Week

The 2026 Legislative Session starts on January 12th and we are getting ready for the legislative whirlwind we are about to hit!

As we have for the past several years, we will be defending Medicaid expansion. A bill to repeal the expansion will be introduced again in 2026, along with several other bills to restrict benefits and enrollment. This will be complicated by several factors, including shifting all Medicaid programs to a managed care system, implementing a new Medicaid enrollment tracking system, and implementing the elements of HR1, the federal legislation passed last July and signed into law that will impact the Affordable Care Act costs as well as implementing new Medicaid requirements. We are prepared to challenge cuts and administrative burdens that will prevent individuals from accessing the health care they need, but we expect this will be a leading issue throughout the session.

We are also working diligently on our efforts around Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs), talking to school boards, emergency medical services, first responders, and others to gather support for implementing CERPs in schools and athletics. We are having initial conversations with legislators to ensure our bill has sponsors and supporters who can help carry it through both the House and Senate as champions, and we have some great volunteers ready to tell their stories and share how important a CERP can be, particularly in rural areas, where response times are a little longer and transportation to high level care can get tricky. 

This session will likely be a difficult one, but we maintain our optimism and ambition to achieve our goals of building a healthier Idaho for all Idahoans!