Idaho
Loss of federal protection in Idaho spurs pregnant patients to plan for emergency air transport • Iowa Capital Dispatch
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in January to consider a case about whether a federal law regarding emergency medical treatment supersedes an abortion ban in Idaho, air transports out of state for pregnancy complications at one of the state’s largest hospitals have increased from one in all of 2023 to six in the past four months.
St. Luke’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Souza said if that pace continues, that number could be 20 patients before the year is over.
“We have limited resources in terms of helicopters, fixed-wing transports and ambulances. If we occupy an air transport with a patient who could completely receive the totality of her care right here, safely, it’s potentially dangerous for other patients,” Souza said.
Idaho’s abortion ban went into effect in August 2022, a few months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal protection for abortion access and allowing states to regulate it instead.
That rise has prompted some Idaho physicians to advise their pregnant patients, or those trying to become pregnant, to purchase memberships with companies like Life Flight Network or Air St. Luke’s in the Boise area to avoid potentially significant costs if they need air transport in an emergency. With or without private insurance, the cost can be thousands of dollars.
“The thought of this becoming the new normal — I don’t want it to be the new normal,” said Blaine Patterson, director of the Air St. Luke’s program, which reported the recent increase in transports by air.
The court will hear oral arguments Wednesday over whether the near-total abortion ban means doctors who may need to terminate a pregnancy to stabilize a patient in a health emergency will have to continue to transfer patients out of state or risk jail time and the loss of their medical license. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Idaho in 2022 over the ban, saying it violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, which mandates that Medicare-funded hospitals provide stabilizing care for patients who come to an emergency room regardless of their ability to pay.
In a brief submitted to the court leading up to oral arguments, the Department of Justice cited States Newsroom’s reporting from January that without EMTALA protection in place, doctors said they would have to transfer more patients out of state for abortion care rather than wait for conditions to become life-threatening.
A pregnant patient might come to the ER for a variety of reasons, including high blood pressure, bleeding, or one of the most common occurrences, when the patient’s water breaks before a fetus can live outside of the womb, even with medical intervention. It happened 54 times at St. Luke’s Boise in 2023, or about once a week — though not all of those cases occur before a fetus is viable, which is generally considered to be about 22 weeks of gestation.
After the water breaks, there is often still a fetal heartbeat, even though the fetus ultimately won’t survive without amniotic fluid. And in the meantime, infection can quickly spread throughout the body and turn septic, which is life threatening, or it can lead to hemorrhage. Without the ban in place, a doctor would likely recommend termination of the pregnancy to avoid further complications.
But with the ban, maternal-fetal medicine specialists like Dr. Stacy Seyb of Boise aren’t taking any chances by trying to wait until the law’s exception for saving the patient’s life might apply. If termination needs to be considered, he said it’s better in his judgment to send someone to a facility out of state that can freely offer termination before it’s too late. The longer an infection or other complication persists, the greater risk it poses to a patient’s health and ability to get pregnant again in the future.
“And there are times they may not even need the procedure. But we can’t predict that, and we can’t predict how quickly their status might change,” Seyb said. “I think it’s a great hardship, it’s an extra expense to our medical system, and it doesn’t make sense why something that I’ve been doing for 30 years of my career is now taboo.”
Transport has financial, emotional and potentially physical costs
In a brief filed earlier this month by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious conservative law firm that has argued several abortion-related cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the Dobbs decision, attorneys argued on behalf of Idaho that transport out of state for an emergency termination is in line with EMTALA’s requirements.
“If state law allows a doctor to provide a particular treatment, then that service is available at a hospital for EMTALA purposes. But if state law prohibits a particular treatment, then the facility cannot provide it to anyone, no matter the circumstances,” the attorneys wrote.
Typically, only one support person at most can accompany a patient during air transport. That often means other family members must drive hours away from home in this region of the country, and find a place to stay. Seattle or Portland are seven to eight hours away, while Salt Lake City is about a five-hour drive from Boise. Utah has an 18-week abortion ban with an exception to preserve a pregnant patient’s health.
“It’s tough enough losing a pregnancy, but then to go through this in a foreign land,” Seyb said. “I feel very bad for these patients.”
There are also some patients who simply go home and wait it out, he said, because they don’t have the money or resources for air transport. Those patients may end up back at the emergency room later in worse condition.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the average cost of these flights is between $12,000 and $25,000 before insurance is applied, based on an average 52-mile distance. Salt Lake City is almost 340 miles from Boise. Depending on the patient’s insurance plan details, 20% of that cost could still fall to them to pay out of pocket.
The median cost calculated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is even higher at $36,000 to $40,000.
Besides the emotional and financial toll, Seyb said, there are delays in care caused by first having to make the decision to transfer and decide where the patient should go, then prep the patient for transport and make the journey while hoping no complications occur en route.
The aircraft is equipped to try to handle those situations, but by definition, it is not as well-equipped as a hospital. The specialty care teams that have to ride along for those transports in case of complications are also tied up for many hours and therefore unavailable to other hospital patients who may need them.
There are also considerations around weather in a mountainous region, said Patterson. In a time-sensitive situation, if there is a severe storm or low visibility for other reasons, it will inevitably delay care further.
“If it’s below weather minimums, we aren’t going anywhere. And those apply to everybody,” Patterson said.
‘You should think about’ membership if pregnant in Idaho
Natalie Hannah, spokesperson for the Life Flight Network, said they have not seen an increase in transports for maternal complications, nor have they seen an increase in membership requests. Life Flight has a reciprocal agreement with Air St. Luke’s and many other regional medical facilities around the West, she said, so coverage would be widespread. A membership with Life Flight costs $85 for one year for a household, while Air St. Luke’s charges $60 for one year. A member is required to have private insurance to qualify.
Patterson said a membership with Air St. Luke’s will cover copays and deductibles, and while he might only have recommended it before for those who recreate outdoors in remote areas or who ride motorcycles, he now would advise people to add pregnancy to the list. Seyb agreed that it made sense as a precautionary measure.
“You should think about it,” Patterson said.
BOISE, Idaho — A Boise neighbor said she trapped the largest rat she has ever seen in her backyard, and a local pest control expert said he has already responded to multiple Treasure Valley homes this year to remove the rodents. As sightings increase, Idaho lawmakers are also taking action.
Britni Killeen, who grew up on a farm in East Idaho, said nothing could have prepared her for what she found in her West Boise backyard.
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“I’m a 5th-generation Idahoan, and I’ve never seen something that big,” Killeen said.
Killeen believes the rats may be swimming through the Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve and making their way into nearby neighborhoods.
“We live next door to the refuge, and if you have a gap between your fence, which we do, it’s about 3 ft, they come into your yard, and they can go under fences,” explained Killeen.
Alpha Home Pest Control has served the Treasure Valley for over 10 years. Owner Mike Hill said he has been receiving weekly calls about rat sightings. While some turn out to be false alarms, he has already visited seven Treasure Valley homes this year to remove rats. Hill said many of them may be arriving from out of state and staying because of the mild weather conditions.
“Washington, California, the shipping, the freight coming back and forth, they’re kind of stowaways,” Hill said. “Then with the mild winters that we’ve been having, [it] hasn’t really been killing them off.”
RELATED | ‘It was like an explosion of rats’: Neighbors report rise in pests
Hill said Norway and Roof rats can pose serious risks to both health and property.
“They carry disease, they carry fleas, ticks, they can chew through your wiring in your home,” Hill said. “Their teeth grow very rapidly, so there have been cases where they’re up there chewing on wires, [and] the house burns down.”
If you spot a rat, Hill recommends calling a professional to ensure there are not more hiding nearby. He also offered several prevention tips.
“The droppings of the fruit, excess fruit, keep that stuff picked up. Make sure that your trash is enclosed in either a hard plastic or metal container,” Hill said.
RELATED| Rodents of Unusual Size Act advances to House after 28-3 Senate vote
As rat sightings increase across the Treasure Valley, lawmakers are taking notice. On Thursday, the Idaho Senate passed the Rodents of Unusual Size Act, which would declare Norway and roof rats a public health and safety nuisance and requires the state to take action to control and remove them. That bill now heads to the House.
Killeen said the legislation is a step in the right direction.
“Considering how big that rat is, I would definitely say so,” Killeen said. “I didn’t even know that big of rats could exist in Idaho, but maybe I’m just rural.”
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers have introduced legislation that would phase out state funding for the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs while keeping the commission in place.
The proposal, introduced by Rep. Jeff Ehlers, would gradually eliminate general fund support for the commission by July 1, 2028. The commission would continue to operate but would need to rely on private funding.
Rep. Ehlers told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Thursday that the proposal came from recommendations by Idaho’s DOGE Task Force, which reviewed government programs and spending.
READ MORE | Idaho DOGE Task Force recommends defunding Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs
The bill would also eliminate the commission from a list of organizations eligible for a state income tax charitable contribution credit.
Rep. Steve Berch questioned why the legislation would remove both state funding and the tax credit option, saying it could make it more difficult for the commission to raise money.
“I hate to use this word, but I’m really offended by this specific effort to make it that much more difficult for private citizens to be able to contribute to the Hispanic commission,” Rep. Berch said in committee. “I don’t think this can be justified from a financial point of view, and quite frankly, I don’t think it can be justified from a moral point of view.”
In response, Rep. Jason Monks said that it would be more “offensive” to not allow further discussion of the bill before a final decision is made.
The proposal comes after an earlier attempt this session to eliminate the commission entirely. In January, Rep. Heather Scott presented a draft bill that would have removed all references to the commission from Idaho law and dissolved it by July 1, but that measure failed to advance out of committee.
The committee ultimately voted on Thursday to introduce the legislation, allowing it to be printed and advanced for further debate.
This story has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Shanea Fulks is the owner of Seven Sisters Closet Revival, a new consignment store at 260 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls. Take a look inside in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
New consignment shop in Idaho Falls offers vintage clothes for customers and booth space for sellers
IDAHO FALLS – Curating vintage clothing is Shanea Fulks’s passion, and she’s sharing it with the community through a new business venture.
Seven Sisters Closet Revival opens Saturday at 260 South Woodruff inside Parkwood Plaza in Idaho Falls. It offers racks of vintage clothes for customers and booth space for others to sell their items.
“You get a rack with shelves, and you can come in throughout the week and sell things,” Fulks tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The things you’ll see in the middle of the store are pieces that I have curated. I hand-pick all the things I bring to the store.”
See some of the items in the video above.
Fulks says she’s had multiple people walk in already who are excited about the shop.
The store will have a grand opening this weekend. Fulks is partnering with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting and open house at noon on Friday. A local band will be performing during the event.
Then on Saturday, a grand opening celebration will begin at 2 p.m. Several vendors and live entertainment will be available. Fulks says she’s looking forward to interacting with the community.
Fulks has been selling items from her personal collection online for years. After helping a mother and daughter find a formal dress during an interaction at another shop in town several years ago, Fulks says she realized there was a need for a store like this.
After about a year of working with real estate agents, Fulks says the Parkwood Plaza space formerly occupied by a beauty salon called Blush became available, and it was an ideal fit.
“It’s just been a whirlwind and we’re just trying to get it going,” says Fulks.
Fulks’ interest in fashion stems back to childhood. She lost her dad and stepdad to suicide at a young age and grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. As a result, she says they bought clothes at Goodwill and other secondhand stores.
She remembers being made fun of because of the clothes she wore. In time, she learned to embrace her uniqueness and developed an interest in vintage clothes.
“I’ve just always been attracted to old sweaters, military jackets (her dad served in Vietnam),” Fulks says. “I like to help people feel confident wearing something unique, even if it’s not trendy. Be bold and wear whatever you want.”
The idea of making the most of your circumstances and embracing who you are is inspired by her experience with suicide, and it’s reflected in the art that’s on display in her store.
“Part of the theme in my store is ‘Stay. We need you,’” she says.
The business name refers to her family. She comes from a blended family of six girls and four boys. When she and her husband were married, they had a daughter — the seventh sister.
Fulks says she’s looking forward to offering great deals to customers. She has two sons with autism who love art, and she wants to host art-themed events for people with special needs. She’d also like to host tea parties and other events in the future.
“I want people to come and feel like they belong,” she says. “I’m going to allow people to do karaoke. When you’re here, I want you to feel like you can have fun.”
Seven Sisters Closet Revival will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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