BOISE — Members of the Idaho House Health & Welfare Committee delayed voting on a bill Friday that would add work requirements to the voter-approved Medicaid expansion.

Dozens of Idahoans attended a hearing on the bill, with more than 50 testifying in opposition to the proposal.

During the three-hour hearing, just one person spoke in favor of the proposal — Fred Birnbaum, a lobbyist with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a group that earlier this year lost a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Medicaid voter initiative.

Andy Wynn of the Boise VA Medical Center, who spoke against the bill, said the majority of people in the coverage gap — uninsured adults who are too poor to qualify for health coverage subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and who are not eligible for Medicaid — are already working.

“What this bill would do is burden working Idahoans with additional hoops to jump through to prove their eligibility for care,” Wynn said.

The bill states that persons participating in Medicaid must be employed or in a training program, aligning with the work requirements to receive food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposal also states that persons with children under 18 years old are exempt from work requirements.

The committee voted along party lines earlier this week, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed, to introduce the proposal from Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa.

Vander Woude said the goal is to help people become less dependent on government programs.

“Proposition 2 was presented to voters with no clear indication of the massive fiscal impact it could impose,” Vander Woude said in a statement. “It is our constitutional duty to act responsibly when spending taxpayer dollars.”

Democrats reacted strongly in opposition to the bill on Friday.

“It’s deeply troubling that House Majority Leadership believes the voters do not understand what they voted for,” said House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, in a press release. “They devalue the voter, to justify the fact that they could care less about health care coverage for hardworking Idahoans. And they secretly hashed out another ‘we know better’ bill in some back room.”

The bill would end Medicaid expansion if the federal share of the cost covered dips below 90 percent, unless lawmakers choose to continue it, among other requirements.

The statewide voter initiative passed at the polls last November with about 61 percent of the vote.

Supporters of that initiative have been urging lawmakers to fund Medicaid expansion as it was passed by voters, with no sideboards.

“This is essentially a bill to repeal the Medicaid expansion program nearly two-thirds of Idahoans voted in favor of,” said Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, the group that led the successful petition drive that placed Proposition 2 on the ballot last fall. “Clearly, Rep. Vander Woude is out of touch with working Idahoans, Idaho voters, and his own constituents.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cheyenna McCurry is a legislative intern with the James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research in Boise, and a student in the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media.