BOISE, Idaho — The death of eight-year-old Mora Gerety earlier this month on Harrison Boulevard has renewed calls for safer streets in Boise’s North End.

Neighbors say the incident highlights long-standing concerns about vehicle speeds and pedestrian safety in the neighborhood.

WATCH | North End Neighbors call for safer streets —

Boise’s North End pushes for safer streets after death of 8-year-old

“Every time we have a fatality like this where a child is put in danger and killed or seriously injured, it elevates the conversation because people realize how dangerous our streets are for young people to navigate,” said Cynthia Gibson, who chairs the North End Streets Committee.

Gibson, who has lived in the North End for more than 30 years, is among those advocating for lowering local residential speed limits to 20 mph. She also encourages residents to join the North End Neighborhood Association, volunteer with ACHD’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee or participate in state legislative discussions around street safety.

“They need to be slow and cautious and aware of people trying to cross the streets. A lot of our streets have schools on them, kids are trying to get to school,” said Gibson.

The conversation also echoes a 2023 crash that killed Boise High School student Jadin Zurawski just blocks away on 16th Street. In response, ACHD added raised crosswalks and flashing warning lights at that intersection to alert drivers of pedestrians crossing.

At Harrison Blvd and Ada St, ACHD says crews began assessing safety conditions the morning after the crash and are evaluating possible improvements for pedestrians. The agency extends their condolences to Mora’s family.

— How you can weigh-in on safer streets —

A public meeting will be held Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Rockies, where ACHD staff will solicit input from Ada County residents on street safety.

Neighbors can also share feedback through an online safety survey.

POST FALLS (Idaho Capital Sun) — A major Idaho health insurer this week asked the Idaho Department of Insurance to investigate the billing practices of a new North Idaho hospital.

Blue Cross of Idaho claims that Post Falls ER & Hospital has refused offers to be part of the insurer’s network of in-network providers, and has instead relied heavily on a last-resort financial protection that lets health care providers dispute insurer payments.

Blue Cross of Idaho Chief Strategy Officer Drew Hobby said the insurer wants to protect consumers from rising health care costs.

“We have a responsibility to help Idahoans get access to high quality, affordable care. And we’re very concerned and alarmed with this process, which we would say is driving up unreasonable costs and unreasonable rates to Idahoans,” he told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview.

The Idaho Department of Insurance is reviewing the issue, agency spokesperson Julie Robinson said in a statement.

The Post Falls ER & Hospital opened in 2024. The facility was Nutex Health Inc.’s first micro-hospital in Idaho.

Post Falls ER & Hospital could not be immediately reached for comment.

Outside of the Post Falls ER & Hospital, 100% of hospitals in Idaho are in Blue Cross’s network, Hobby said. Blue Cross also asked the Department of Insurance to help get the hospital’s owners to meet with Blue Cross.

What is the billing practice Blue Cross wants Idaho to investigate?

In its letter to the Idaho Department of Insurance, Blue Cross asked for a probe into whether the Post Falls ER & Hospital has misused a process called independent dispute resolution.

The process, created by the federal No Surprises Act, allows health care providers to challenge denials and payments by health insurers for services that are out of network, triggering arbitration to decide the final payment.

Each week in recent months, Blue Cross received an average of 75 dispute requests from the hospital, the insurer said in its letter. That is much more than the insurer says it received from all other health care entities in Idaho. On average each month, Hobby said Blue Cross only received 14 dispute requests from other providers in Idaho.

“Compared to the rest of providers that we work with … the volume is alarming,” Hobby said.

The payments sought in that process are often high, Blue Cross told the Department of Insurance. One example Hobby shared was a claim for nearly $2,900 to treat a runny nose, which was well over the $376 that is the median commercial rate for nasal congestion.