Camille Blaylock — Named as being online for the meeting.
Dustin Manwaring — Named as being online for the meeting.
Dustin Manwaring — Representative Manwaring asks about the approach to sharing information and data with the committee, then follows up by referencing the raw survey responses and summary that the task force had received, continuing the discussion of how data should be provided and handled.
Julie VanOrden — Julie VanOrden is referenced twice in her role as co-chair, first as 'my co-chair' and later as 'Co-Chair Van Orden,' with no substantive change in topic.
Julie VanOrden — Referenced as having noted that the raw information and summaries are available.
Chris Jones — The director says Chris Jones will speak later and can attest to the pace of implementation; he used to be in the administration.
Chris Jones — Chris Jones introduced himself as the managing partner of Catalyst Policy Group and described his background in health systems, rural hospitals, state government, policy, and Medicaid advising. He framed his remarks around improving rural health care, noting that the process is moving unusually quickly and that Idaho is aligned with other states developing rural strategies. He emphasized that rural care should be accessible and affordable, that programs should be designed around overlapping patient needs, and that the director deserves credit for moving fast. He then shifted to examples from other states, including the use of community health workers, and discussed sustainability as more than just future payment—arguing that innovations should also reduce staffing burdens, such as through remote patient monitoring.
Steven Tanner — Representative Tanner asks a series of related questions about how scope-of-practice policy changes and related bills could affect state funding, including what actions might cause the state to lose or gain money, whether work on dental hygienists and physician assistants is still ongoing, and what policy changes could help preserve or increase funding. He also discusses the committee’s role in supporting transformational health care ideas and asks what concerns PAs raised about expanding scope of practice, with the response indicating the PAs were uncomfortable with the bill as written and that their letter would be forwarded to him.
Jordan Redman — The speaker refers to another co-chair, likely Representative Jordan Redman, regarding bills brought this session.
Jordan Redman — Chris Jones said he met with Representative Redmond/Redman the previous day and prepared a slide deck for the committee. He then addressed Representative Redmond while introducing the slides and explained that Redmond had asked him to share examples of what other states are doing.
Heather Scott — Asked who performed the survey and raised questions about its quality.
Heather Scott — Was addressed by the director in response to her question.
Heather Scott — Followed up on concerns about the survey results, especially the repeated 'other' responses.
Heather Scott — Criticized the survey design and said the results suggested it was not very accurate.
Heather Scott — Was addressed by the director in response to her concerns.
Heather Scott — Said she had reviewed most of the 629 pages of comments and surveys and believed there were misconceptions in them.
Heather Scott — The director thanked her for the feedback and offered to revisit the survey responses in a future meeting.
Heather Scott — The speaker referenced Co-chair Redmond as having spoken to the committee about innovative practices.
Heather Scott — The Director responds to Representative Healy's question about telehealth needs.
Josh Tanner — Representative Tanner questioned how the program will actually attract and retain providers, pressing on the five-year service concept, ongoing retention efforts, tribal approaches, and what outcomes are expected from the program.
Dori Healey — Representative Healy questioned what would happen to staff at the end of the five-year period, specifically asking about the role and duties of the state epidemiologist and whether the new positions could be absorbed within existing department staffing and resources.
Dori Healey — Representative Healy is said to prefer May 28 for the CMS visit.