Little says he’s concerned about tariffs and Medicaid expansion

IDAHO FALLS — The Republican candidate for governor expressed his stances on issues from Medicaid expansion to nuclear waste disposal.

Lt. Gov. Brad Little answered questions during the Idaho Falls City Club forum Tuesday. Although he expressed concern over President Donald Trump’s agricultural tariffs and the possible ramifications they may have on Idaho’s economy, Little was loath to criticize the president.

“Obviously, he and I have a little different style,” Little said. “The president playing hardball and our agreement with Mexico and we think Canada pretty soon … are going to give us the leverage that we absolutely have to have … to deal with the Chinese.”

He went on to say there will be “short-term pain” as a result of the president’s foreign policy, but it is likely the policies will pay off in the end. Little then, again, expressed anxiety over those same policies.

“It is a high-stakes poker game, and I am very concerned about it,” he said.

Little gave his views on Medicaid expansion explaining he has concerns over the cost and what is going to happen with the Affordable Care Act.

“If your paycheck — your income comes in at 6, 8, 10, 12 percent more than it did the year before, but your health care costs goes up by 20 or 30 percent, that negates the benefit of that,” he said.

However, Little said something needs to be done to address “the gap,” the group of people that don’t qualify for Medicaid but don’t make enough to afford health insurance.

“I am passionate about addressing those in the gap, but I am concerned about the uncertainty at the federal level,” he said. “If it passes, I will enforce it.”

Little said he supports the legalization of medical marijuana.

“If it’s controlled, if we know what the quality of it is, which is what we have with Epidiolex,” he said.

Epidiolex is an FDA approved cannabidiol oral medication for seizure disorders.

Little said he would like to see the price of Epidiolex come down and even suggested the government could help families with children who have seizure disorders pay for the medication.

Little, who is running against Democrat Paulette Jordan in November, answered a variety of questions on multiple topics. EastIdahoNews.com will post a link to the full forum later this afternoon.