Idaho Senate Rejects $5.7B Health and Welfare Budget Bill

GOP lawmakers join Democrats in voting down SB-1375, citing concerns over Medicaid cuts and impacts on services

Mar. 13, 2026 at 3:19am

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The Idaho Senate voted 25-10 to reject SB-1375, a $5.7 billion appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Welfare and the State Independent Living Council. The bill, which included 3% and 2% budget cuts recommended by the governor and legislature, faced bipartisan opposition over concerns that the reductions would negatively impact Medicaid coverage, mental health services, and other programs.

Why it matters

The failure of this major budget bill highlights the political tensions and competing priorities around health and social services funding in Idaho. The proposed cuts raised concerns about access to care, especially for vulnerable populations, and the potential downstream costs of reduced preventative and community-based services.

The details

SB-1375 would have allocated nearly $5.7 billion to DHW and SLIC programs, including state psychiatric care and Medicaid administration. The bill called for eliminating or restructuring around 90 full-time positions. Republican Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld opposed the bill as unsustainable, while Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow warned the Medicaid rate reductions would make it harder to attract medical professionals and force assisted living facilities to turn away patients. Republican Sen. Jim Guthrie criticized his colleagues for previous tax cuts that contributed to the budget shortfall, saying "Today's financial pain... is in large part self-inflicted."

  • The Idaho Senate voted on SB-1375 on March 13, 2026.

The players

Sen. Kevin Cook

A Republican senator who introduced SB-1375, the appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Welfare and the State Independent Living Council.

Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld

A Republican senator who announced her intention to vote against SB-1375, calling the bill unsustainable.

Sen. Melissa Wintrow

A Democratic senator who emphasized that the proposed Medicaid rate reductions would negatively impact access to care and the ability to attract medical professionals to Idaho.

Sen. Jim Guthrie

A Republican senator who criticized his colleagues for previous tax cuts that contributed to the current budget shortfall, saying "Today's financial pain... is in large part self-inflicted."

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What they’re saying

“This is the granddaddy of all of your appropriation bills that you'll hear this year,”

— Sen. Kevin Cook

“Physicians all over the state have been emailing us. I mean, I've got letters 5 inches high here, probably 500 letters about the impacts of these rate reductions on services, but physicians are saying, 'I'm not gonna be able to afford to keep as many of these patients, so I might have to start turning more Medicaid patients away,' which means if they're sick, they're driving them to the emergency room, which is a much higher cost of care.”

— Sen. Melissa Wintrow

“You might save 1 penny today, but we're going to pay $1 later for every penny we save,”

— Sen. Melissa Wintrow

“Today's financial pain, in my opinion, is in large part self-inflicted. So in a strong economy last year, we spent, and we gave over $450 million of tax relief along with other spending decisions, all before setting a revenue number. I will note that for the record, I voted against over $300 million worth of tax cuts last year.”

— Sen. Jim Guthrie

“The calls I get about the Medicaid cuts have been nonstop since summertime. As the cost shifts, we'll shift that cost to higher treatment ERs, mental health services, law enforcement, eventually insurance rates going up for all of us.”

— Sen. Jim Guthrie

What’s next

The rejected SB-1375 bill will now be held in the office of the Senate Secretary, and lawmakers will need to go back to the drawing board to address the state's health and welfare budget.

The takeaway

The bipartisan rejection of this major health and welfare budget bill underscores the complex political dynamics and competing priorities around funding for social services in Idaho. Lawmakers will need to find a balanced approach that addresses the state's fiscal constraints while also ensuring adequate access to critical health and social programs for vulnerable populations.