Holy Spirit in Action

Five days before Easter, Montana Medicaid Expansion has been resurrected on a 28-22 vote by the state Senate. The amended bill now goes back to the House for a final set of votes. The bill  includes work requirements, an improved asset test and premium increases for people who stay on the program for more than two years.  Some Republi can senators had withheld support last week, hoping to secure passage of a bill that prolongs coal energy production in the state. But the coal bill failed on third reading in the House on Tuesday, 60-38. The  idea could be amended into another bill in the final 10 days of the session.

Lots of political gamesmanship going on, with Medicaid Expansion hanging in the balance. 

The state Senate is voting Thursday afternoon on Medicaid Expansion. It's going to be very close. 4 p.m. update: HB 658, the bill extending Medicaid Expansion, FAILED on a 25-25 vote. Some 96,000 low-income Montanans will lose their health care coverage in two months. Another vote will be held on Saturday after a  second reading of the bill .   The next 24 hours are crucial! Contact the senators  below  as soon as possible and tell them that 100,000 Montanans’ healthcare is on the line. (406) 444-4800 or   leg.mt.gov/web-messaging Sen. Ankney Sen. Hoven Sen. Richmond Sen. Tempel Sen. Welborn Sen. Thomas

Heart flutters at the state capital Friday as the Medicaid Expansion bill carried by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, was tabled by a Senate committee. But that turned out to be a parliamentary maneuver by the bill's Senate sponsor to assure it a more friendly committee hearing. The bill still should pass the Senate and be signed by the governor, most observers predict, as it has the support of Democrats as well as more moderate Republicans. Some Republicans opposed to Medicaid Expansion point to a failed statewide referendum last year that would have funded the program through an increase in tobacco taxes, suggesting that the current effort thwarts the will of the people. Opposition to the ballot measure was heavily financed by tobacco companies.

Oh, this is interesting. Wonder how it will affect Montana's bill.

Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls A compromise bill to extend Medicaid Expansion, passed narrowly by a House committee Tuesday night, has until just April 1 to be sent to the Senate. A heavily amended bill carried by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, adds some work requirements but broadens exemptions from his original bill. Audits will monitor the number of people suspended due to failure to meet work requirements and if a court finds them invalid, the program ends in 2025—but could be extended. The bill is expected to pass the House, possibly with more amendments, then goes to the Senate. If passed by both houses, Gov. Steve Bullock would have to decide whether to sign it or veto it.