The Idaho Spending Index serves to provide a fiscally conservative perspective on state budgeting while providing an unbiased measurement of how Idaho lawmakers apply these values to their voting behavior on appropriations bills. Each bill is analyzed within the context of the metrics below. They receive one (+1) point for each metric that is satisfied by freedom-focused policymaking and lose one (-1) point for each instance in which the inverse is true. The sum of these points composes the score for the bill.

Analyst: Niklas Kleinworth

Rating: 0

Bill Description: Senate Bill 1195 is a trailer appropriation for Senate Bill 1097 that funds the Medicaid Management Information System.

Senate Bill 1195 appropriates $183,900 as an FY23 supplemental and $143.7 million in combined general and federal funds to build a new Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) called for in Senate Bill 1097. Cost projections for the new MMIS system have been very unreliable over the last few years, making lawmakers skeptical about the financial benefits of this endeavor. Though there are benchmarks set for the project, there are no provisions in the bill that would stabilize the cost of implementing the program.

Does this budget incur any wasteful spending among discretionary funds, including new line items? Conversely, does this budget contain any provisions that serve to reduce spending where possible (i.e. base reductions, debt reconciliation, etc.)? 

This appropriation is consistent with the fiscal note accompanying Senate Bill 1097 and makes the appropriations effective immediately. There is no evidence of wastefulness in this appropriation.

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