We have an inherent duty to help those in need, and we also need to make sure that we're not bankrupting ourselves while doing so. Idaho has the ability to keep its Medicaid Expansion and not have to spend a gajillion dollars on it.
Most of Idaho's Medicaid funding comes from the federal government (a.k.a. the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage), which eliminates the need to tax ourselves to death just to be able to pay for it. The rest of our state's Medicaid budget is easily covered by both its General Fund and its Hospital Assessment Fund. Problem solved; Idaho's Medicaid program (expansion included) is now fully paid for, and Idaho didn't have to raise any of its taxes to make it happen.
Obviously, government shouldn't pay for everything; not only would that likely encourage a lot of unnecessary dependency, but no government has the means (money, infrastructure, workers, etc.) to do so. However, it does have the inherent responsibility to provide assistance where possible, and Medicaid (including Idaho's Medicaid Expansion) is one way that it does just that. Why help with medical bills? Well, simply put, not everyone has enough of an income to pay for their medical care through other means (such as private health insurance).
When it comes to work requirements for Medicaid recipients, it gets tricky. Toxic dependency on government support - by those who don't need it - should absolutely be prevented as much as possible. So, on paper, work requirements are a good idea.
However, it has been proven that most Medicaid recipients in Idaho are already working, either part-time or full-time (see my source below). That means that they're not on Medicaid to try and be a leech on the government; they're already paying for as much as they can, and thus need just enough help from government to make ends meet.
Medicaid is only granted to those with very low incomes, and both the Idaho government and the federal government already do a pretty good job of vetting those who apply for Medicaid (no, not a perfect job, but a pretty good one).
As a result, work requirements don't seem to be critical in ensuring that Medicaid dollars don't go to waste. Yes, any government entity that provides financial assistance must do its best to ensure that that money is not being abused. However, most of the work requirements being proposed today (such as the ones in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill) will cause a lot of disruptions in the payout process for Medicaid funds.
Let's find a better way to make sure Idaho's Medicaid dollars are being used for their intended purpose.