Idaho campus to accept Medicaid again for student coverage

REXBURG, Idaho (AP) — Campus officials apologized Monday “for the turmoil caused by our earlier decision.”

“We have decided that Medicaid, as it has in previous years, will meet the health coverage requirement at BYU-Idaho,” the campus said in a news release. “Because of its limited capacity and scope of services, our Health Center has not been a Medicaid service provider. This will not change.”

The university noted that pushback from students and the health care community were among the reasons for the reversal.

Earlier this month, BYU-Idaho announced plans to stop accepting Medicaid as coverage.

The change meant students would have to buy a university-backed plan costing at least $81 a month for single students and up to $678 a month for a family, officials said.

The change came one day after Idaho received approval letters from the federal government for its Medicaid expansion plan, officials said.

The university had cited concerns that Medicaid health care providers would be overwhelmed, but several providers disputed that possibility. Some students argued the school plan was expensive and had limited coverage.

“It feels like a huge weight off the shoulders,” Kaleigh Quick, a senior at BYU-Idaho, said about the school accepting Medicaid. “We can go to school and not worry about the burden of health insurance.”