The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho Legislature Proposes $5.7 Billion FY 2027 Maintenance Budget for Health and Human Services
Last action · March 12, 2026: Read third time in full – FAILED - 10-25-0 AYES – Anthon, Bjerke(Bjerke), Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Ricks, Rundhaug(Carlson), Woodward NAYS – Adams, Bernt, Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Coho(Lenney), Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Zito, Zuiderveld Absent and excused – None Floor Sponsor - Cook Filed in Office of the Secretary of Senate
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What This Bill Proposed
This appropriations measure allocates $5,728,135,200 for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the State Independent Living Council for 2027, funding programs ranging from Medicaid and mental health services to public health and child protection. The bill limits full-time equivalent positions across divisions, establishes Medicaid tracking and cost-sharing requirements, and funds targeted substance abuse prevention and rural physician incentives.
Residents across Idaho rely on these funds for public health clinics, child safety programs, Medicaid healthcare coverage, developmental disability support, and state hospital operations. The bill dictates how billions in state and federal dollars are distributed and sets strict reporting rules for agency spending.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Health and Welfare
Receives operational and program appropriations, position caps, and mandatory reporting and budget integrity requirements.
Medicaid enrollees
Subject to cost-sharing requirements, managed care reporting changes, and programmatic funding allocations.
Idaho Drug Free Youth
Receives $250,000 in grant funding subject to quarterly distribution and oversight requirements.
Public health districts
Receive funding allocations for citizen review panels, smoking cessation, and substance abuse prevention programs.
Key Facts
- Appropriates a grand total of $5,728,135,200 across personnel costs, operating expenditures, and trustee and benefit payments for the Department of Health and Welfare and the State Independent Living Council for fiscal year 2027.
- Authorizes specific full-time equivalent (FTP) position caps for each division, such as 609.50 positions for the Division of Welfare and 303.50 for the Division of Medicaid.
- Requires the Department of Health and Welfare to be responsible for the educational needs of school-age children placed in its custody by the judicial branch.
- Allocates a minimum of $42,000 of federal Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act funds to public health districts for citizen review panels.
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- Directs the Division of Medicaid and Division of Indirect Support Services to deliver monthly tracking reports comparing appropriations to actual and forecasted expenditures.
- Permits the transfer of trustee and benefit payment funding in excess of 10% among Medicaid programs, but prohibits transfers to other departmental programs.
- Requires the Division of Medicaid to implement cost-sharing to the maximum extent federally allowable for expanded children's populations with family income between 185% and 300% of the federal poverty limit.
- Transfers $640,000 from the Cooperative Welfare (General) Fund to the Rural Physician Incentive Fund on July 1, 2026.
- Distributes $2,100,000 from the Idaho Millennium Income Fund to public health districts for tobacco, vape, and substance prevention programs.
- Allocates $2,406,000 from the Idaho Millennium Income Fund for Project Filter prevention and cessation programs, prohibiting use for sponsorships or passive advertising.
- Grants $250,000 from the Idaho Millennium Income Fund to Idaho Drug Free Youth, distributed in four installments of $62,500 subject to accountability requirements.
- Restricts naloxone funds available under the State Opioid Response Grant exclusively to first responders in Idaho.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money does this bill appropriate for Idaho health and human services in fiscal year 2027?
What is the requirement for Project Filter funds?
Are there reporting requirements for Medicaid spending?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Failed in the Senate.
Procedural history
5 actions- Mar 12, 2026Read third time in full – FAILED - 10-25-0 AYES – Anthon, Bjerke(Bjerke), Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Ricks, Rundhaug(Carlson), Woodward NAYS – Adams, Bernt, Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Coho(Lenney), Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Zito, Zuiderveld Absent and excused – None Floor Sponsor - Cook Filed in Office of the Secretary of Senate
- Mar 10, 2026Read second time; filed for Third Reading
- Mar 9, 2026Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
- Mar 9, 2026CommitteeReported Printed; referred to Finance
- Mar 6, 2026IntroducedIntroduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Strict Medicaid Tracking and Cost-Sharing Mandates
The bill enforces detailed monthly expenditure tracking and maximizes federally allowable cost-sharing for expanded child Medicaid populations.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 95)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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