Over the past few days, I’ve found myself bewildered—though not surprised—by the hypocrisy, naïveté, and lack of self-awareness exhibited by many of our legislators and those inside the Governor’s Office. As the state’s budget shortfall dominates attention and agency funding requests come under scrutiny, the same old games are being played while the public remains in the dark.
To be fair, many of these individuals are intelligent people. They love their families. They believe, sincerely or otherwise, that they are serving the public good. Many have built successful careers in business, law, farming, and ranching. But if any of them managed their personal or professional affairs the way they manage our public business—the people’s business—they would have the disdain of their communities, and perhaps a few would be facing criminal charges.
Let’s stop pretending. There is a massive coverup underway.
The LUMA Failure: Over the past four years, the accounting and supply-chain systems that LUMA was supposed to modernize and audit have failed to function as designed. As a result, we no longer have confidence in how much tax revenue the state actually has, nor can we accurately track agency expenditures or program costs.
Repeated bipartisan calls for independent audits—especially of the Department of Education (DE), the Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), and the Medicaid program—have been ignored or blocked. The reason is as obvious as it is disturbing: powerful special interests such as the Idaho Medical Association (IMA), the Idaho Hospital Association (IHA), the Idaho Education Association (IEA), and the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) wield more influence in the Governor’s Office than the citizens of this state.
Missing Millions and Evasive Leadership: We already know that roughly $125 million from the State Health Information Exchange cannot be properly accounted for. Where did the money go? Who benefited? And what about the estimated $1 billion in fraudulent or questionable Medicaid payments—based on a conservative 10% fraud and abuse rate (the national average is roughly triple that)? The silence from the Governor’s Office has been deafening.
Equally troubling is the lack of curiosity from the press. The Idaho Statesman and Idaho Capital Sun seem content to recycle official talking points rather than ask hard questions. Skepticism, it seems, isn’t in their toolkit.
The Medicaid Shell Game: Meanwhile, the Governor’s office is playing a shell game with the Medicaid expansion population. Cutting $25 million out of a $5 billion Medicaid budget might sound bold in a press release, but it amounts to less than one percent. Even if the proposed legislation wends its way through committees, passes both chambers, and lands on the Governor’s desk, the result—should he even sign it—would be a grand performance over next to nothing.
All the fanfare in the world won’t disguise the fact that this is a long run for a very short slide.
The Same Advisors, the Same Mistakes: On medical and fiscal policy alike, the Governor is still taking advice from the same insiders who misled him throughout the COVID crisis—the same hospital, insurance, and industry lobbyists whose vested interests block reform. These groups have no appetite for independent audits because transparency would expose a system purpose-built to obscure inefficiency and tolerate fraud.
A Simple Solution—If They Wanted On:If the administration were serious about balancing the budget, cutting waste, and safeguarding taxpayer money, it would follow the lead of other states by commissioning independent, outside audits of DHW and the Medicaid program. But they are not serious—not yet. Their gaze is fixed on surviving the midterms without upsetting the powerful corporations, agency directors, and lobbyists that benefit from the current system.
So, the ball will be kicked once more down the road. Meanwhile, the public’s trust erodes further—and the real cost of mismanagement continues to be paid by WE THE PEOPLE
