Reclaim Idaho is back to doing what it does best — door-knocking in support of Medicaid Expansion. As we gear up for Idahoans voting for or against expansion in November, organizers have vowed to meet as many voters face-to-face as possible, making the case why 62,000 Idahoans who desperately need health care should be covered.
Prop. 2 would expand Medicaid to include everyone under the age of 65 whose adjusted gross income is 133 percent above the federal poverty level. That works out to be about $16,000 for a single person or close to $33,000 for a family of four.
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Federal dollars would cover 90 percent of the expansion cost, and [Reclaim Idaho co-founder] Mayville says it would scale down emergency county and state programs that cover medical bills when patients can't.
"If we do our work of going out and finding our supporters, getting our message across, we will win," he said.
We are now four days into a 20-day kickoff door-knocking campaign in which Reclaim Idaho volunteers — aided by the freshly-painted, 30-year-old Medicaid Express (see picture) — are making stops every day and meeting volunteers in cities and towns across Idaho to drum up support for Medicaid Expansion.
The door-to-door initiative in Sandpoint on Monday kicked off the latest state tour for the Reclaim Idaho team. When Mayville first spoke with the Daily Bee in 2017 in regards to the levy, he said he was following the mantra, "door to door wins the war." He continues to follow that mantra as his team will meet up with volunteers in 20 Idaho communities over the course of 20 days to talk with voters about Medicaid expansion. And it was 20 local volunteers who met up with Mayville at Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters to help out with the door-to-door campaign.
At every stop, Reclaim Idaho organizers are making sure to spread the word not just to the volunteers and community members in person, but also in social media, newspapers, and TV and radio programs. Check out the latest TV report that aired Tuesday night on Spokane’s KXLY station, whose reporter went door-knocking with some of the co-founders — the piece does a good job explaining some of the history and importance of the campaign.
Keep up-to-date on this 20-day door-knocking campaign by following @reclaimidaho, or going to reclaimidaho.org (where you can also make secure donations or find out how to sign up for door-knocking shifts). Finally, as I’m a volunteer, let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for the movement!
