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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho officials have submitted a Medicaid expansion waiver requiring patients get a referral from a primary physician before they can get family planning services such as birth control, abortions or pregnancy care.
The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare submitted the waiver Friday to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Waivers are required when a state wants to deviate from Medicaid rules.
Voters authorized Medicaid expansion in November with an initiative that passed with 61% of the vote after years of inaction by the Idaho Legislature.
But lawmakers earlier this year added restrictions requiring five waivers, including a work requirement waiver the state submitted late last month.
Idaho Medicaid expansion enrollment begins Nov. 1, and coverage starts Jan. 1.
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