Idaho

Idaho Congressman Fulcher introduces bill extending private, short-term health care coverage

Published

1 month ago

December 6, 2025

Idaho Congressman Fulcher introduces bill extending private, short-term health care coverage

U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, speaks with Republican supporters at the Idaho GOP election night watch party at the Grove Hotel in Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher is hoping to expand the use of private, short-term health insurance.

Fulcher on Thursday announced the introduction of the Removing Insurance Gaps for Health Treatment (RIGHT) Act of 2025, which would extend the maximum allowance for short-term health plans from four months to up to three years.

Short-term, limited-duration insurance, known as STLDI, are private insurance plans designed to cover temporary gaps in health coverage. The plans are sometimes less expensive than plans offered through state health insurance marketplace plans, but do not always cover as many services and are not subject to the same consumer protection regulations as those compliant with the Affordable Care Act.

“Four months is far too short a limit, posing undue stress and uncertainty on Americans who would otherwise be left without coverage,” Fulcher said in a press release. “My bill, the RIGHT Act, expands STLDI plans to a full year, with the option to renew for up to three years. This is a practical, no-cost approach that offers families more choice, control, and flexibility to select the healthcare options that work best for them.”

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Insurers offering short term plans can deny coverage for people with pre-existing conditions or exclude coverage for those conditions, such as cancer or pregnancy, according to a 2025 analysis by the health policy organization KFF. The analysis also found that “the lowest-cost short-term plan premium for a 40-year-old woman ranges from 6% to 19% higher than the lowest-cost premium for a man.” Regulations under the federal Affordable Care Act, or ACA, prohibit these practices for other types of insurance.

Short-term plans are sold in 36 states, including Idaho, according to KFF. Plans may be available for three months, with the ability to renew for a total of four months of coverage.

Federal regulations require short-term insurers to conspicuously notify consumers that the plans are not “comprehensive coverage.” These regulations were crafted in response to misleading marketing and deceptive sales tactics, KFF said.

The Idaho Department of Insurance in 2019 issued two notices regarding short-term health plans: one warned Idahoans of robocall scams that come “from telemarketing centers and give incomplete information, trying to pass off very limited coverage as comprehensive health insurance,” and the other was a cease and desist letter to a short-term health care insurer soliciting in Idaho that was not licensed to do so.

The KFF analysis found that the lowest cost short-term plans could cost two-thirds or less than the lowest-cost, unsubsidized Bronze plans sold on the ACA marketplace in the same area. However, the analysis found that the federal premium tax credits, which subsidize marketplace health insurance premium costs, resulted in similarly priced or some cheaper marketplace plans.

Fulcher introduced the health care bill the same month the enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire, which may cause significant increases in health insurance costs for some.

In Idaho, the enhanced credits reduced average monthly premiums by more than $400, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

The enhanced credits are set to expire at the end of December without congressional action.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Source link

Click to comment

Idaho

Pocatello and Idaho Falls welcome new leadership – Local News 8

Published

56 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Pocatello and Idaho Falls welcome new leadership – Local News 8

IDAHO FALLS/POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) —The City of Pocatello officially welcomed new Mayor Mark Dahlquist and City Council Members Dakota Bates, Stacy Satterfield, and Ann Swanson during the City Council meeting on Jan. 8, 2026.

Mayor Dahlquist, a lifelong resident of Pocatello, brings extensive experience in leadership and management to the role. From 2007 until 2025, he served as Chief Executive Officer of NeighborWorks Pocatello, where he focused on housing, community development, and neighborhood revitalization. Before that, he spent 17 years in leadership and management positions with Farmers Insurance.

After the ceremony, Dahlquist said, “To make our community the very best it can be. Just remember to be involved. Volunteer being advocates for the community. We all together will make this community rise and be the very best it can be.”

The City also recognized the three City Council members who were sworn in following the November election.

In Idaho Falls Mayor-elect Lisa Burtenshaw officially began her term, taking the oath of office alongside elected City Council members during a ceremony at the City Council Chambers.

In addition to Burtenshaw, Brandon Lee was sworn in to City Council Seat 1. Jim Francis and Jim Freeman, who were reelected to Seats 4 and 6, also took the oath to begin their new terms.

Burtenshaw’s term begins following her election in December 2025. She succeeds outgoing Mayor Rebecca Casper, who served the city for 12 years and leaves a legacy of dedicated public service.

“I am honored to serve the residents of Idaho Falls and to begin this next chapter with such a dedicated City Council,” Burtenshaw said. “I look forward to engaging with our community, listening to their ideas, and working together to make Idaho Falls a great place to live, raise a family and grow a business.”

Source link

Idaho

Water Outlook does not look promising in SW Idaho, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

Published

13 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Water Outlook does not look promising in SW Idaho, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

BOISE, Idaho — It has been a dismal year for snow, but we’ve actually received more precipitation than normal in the Boise and Payette River basins. The difference has been the temperature, and we are trying to learn what the change in climate means for water users— both commercial and recreational.

“If you think about the lack of snow we have gotten in the Treasure Valley, it is unusual,” said hydrologist Troy Lindquist with the National Weather Service.

Click here to see the conditions and hear from the National Weather Service.

Water Outlook does not look promising, but it could be worse without all the precipitation

The mountains of western and central Idaho received some snow this week, and that bumped up the snow water equivalent to 83 percent of average in the Boise Basin, 81 percent in the Payette River Basin, and 69 percent in the Weiser River Basin.

The lack of snow is obvious at lower elevations, but we have also received 4.88 inches of rain at the Boise Airport since the beginning of October, a full inch above the average. I wanted to talk with Troy Linquist to learn more about this strange winter and what it means for the future.

“If we don’t have that mid and low elevation snowpack, that’s just overall going to decrease the spring run-off,” said Lindquist. “Instead of it holding as snow and holding in the mountains, that rain has increased the reservoir system.”

I’ve been out kayaking as the South Fork of the Payette River is flowing at normal summer levels and has been for several weeks.

Most of Idaho’s rivers are flowing higher than normal, including Mores Creek, which dumps into Lucky Peak Reservoir.

It’s good news, but not as good as if the precipitation was sticking around in the mountains in the form of a deep snowpack.

Mores Creek just above Lucky Peak Reservoir

“If we just don’t get the snow that is going to impact the water supply, it’s going to impact vegetation, spring flows, the health of the ecosystem, and stuff like that,” added Lindquist.

The team at the National Weather Service will continue to monitor the situation daily and Troy Lindquist told me the outlook for the next ten days doesn’t look good. However, the wet winter months are a marathon, not a sprint— with several months left to improve the outlook. That said, it could also get worse.

The reservoirs have added water from the rivers and streams

“We got the second half of January, February, and March where we can accumulate snowpack,” explained Lindquist. “We do have time to see that snowpack recover, and that’s what we are hoping for.”

The Boise system has pretty good carryover from last year between Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock, and Lucky Peak. The system is 58 percent full, and the Payette system is 71 percent full.

Snow water equivalent after this week's snow

Some of Idaho’s river basins are actually doing pretty well right now, but southern Idaho is doing the worst, as the Owyhee River Basin is sitting at 20 percent of its average snowpack.

ALSO READ | Lemons into lemonade: Kayakers get a unique, winter opportunity while snow conditions worsen

Source link

Idaho

Idaho faces “snow drought” despite high precipitation levels

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Idaho faces “snow drought” despite high precipitation levels

Water managers in Idaho are expressing concern over an unusual weather pattern causing a “snow drought” across much of the state, despite a wet start to Water Year 2026. While fifteen of Idaho’s twenty-six river basins are experiencing “pluvial” conditions with exceptionally high precipitation, twelve of these basins are facing snow drought. This phenomenon occurs when winter precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, a situation exacerbated by the warmest winter on record, surpassing the previous record set in 1934.

The Spokane basin exemplifies this issue, with moderately pluvial precipitation conditions but exceptional drought snowpack conditions. Snow has only accumulated significantly at high elevations, leaving areas like the Big Lost River basin’s valley floor, downstream from Mackay, without snow cover.

Despite these challenges, some basins, including the Big Wood, Little Wood, Big Lost, and Little Lost, are seeing snowpack levels almost a month ahead of schedule. The Upper Snake River basin is also wetter than normal, which is crucial for recovering from drought due to below-normal reservoir carryover at the start of the water year.

Northern Idaho requires significant snowpack accumulation to recover from drought conditions, while western Idaho risks drought without more snow. Eastern Idaho is faring better, except for the southern side of the Snake River basin, which needs substantial snowpack for drought recovery.

An active weather pattern is forecasted for the next week, but drier than normal conditions are expected to begin this weekend and last for at least a week. Water managers will be closely monitoring temperatures to see if they drop enough to convert precipitation into the much-needed snowpack.

Source link