Idaho lawmakers are beginning their oversight of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal cash to modernize the state's rural health system.
A legislative committee met for the first time Wednesday morning to direct the spending of Idaho's $500 million share of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program grant.
The first installment of the five-year totals $186 million and must be earmarked by Oct. 30.
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Juliet Charron said she's working to hire 12 temporary staff for the program's lifespan who will help organize contracting and track compliance.
"We have a pretty lean approach," said Charron. "I've seen some pretty large teams even from our neighboring states to the east that have even smaller populations than we do."
Charron said the state will focus on increasing access to telehealth services as well as using AI for diagnostic support, billing and helping stop cybersecurity threats.
Idaho also wants to make services more available in rural areas for maternal health, behavioral health, dental and diagnostics.
That could include placing diagnostic kiosks and telehealth pods at rural hubs across the state.
People discharged from the hospital and those with chronic illnesses could participate in remote patient monitoring to reduce provider costs and free up space for other patients.
State lawmakers said little during the committee's first meeting. They'll soon get a look at proposed awards and contracts in the coming weeks.
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