Holy Spirit in Action

No, we don't mean banking by phone! We mean participating in a phone bank to  advocate for Medicaid Expansion and help people call their legislators., hosted by one of the best organizations around--Montana Women Vote. Three Mondays, starting Feb. 25. Email Danielle at danielle@montanawomenvote.org

A large mosaic of Norman Rockwell’s 1961  Golden Rule  hangs outside the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. May God bless us with a restless  discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may seek truth boldly and love deep within our hearts May God bless us with holy  anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people. May God bless us with the gift of  tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy. May God bless us with enough  foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

A new plan for public health spending in Montana, restoring many of the cuts made in 2017 , has been approved by a legislative subcommittee on health and human services, The committee okayed many of the budget proposals made by Gov. Steve Bullock, including support for the Children's Health Improvement Program (CHIP) and foster care,  as well as higher Medicaid provider rates and slightly higher wages for people who help the elderly and those with disabilities or mental health issues. The measure now goes to the House for approval.

The upcoming battle over Medicaid expansion in Montana this spring will probably focus on work or “community engagement” requirements, favored by Republicans as a condition for continuing the program covering 95,000 Montanans. Here are links to several articles and studies opposed to the work requirements for various reasons: 1) Work requirements could reduce enrollment in Medicaid expansion by a third . ( Once Representative Buttrey’s bill has been introduced, legislative fiscal analysts will come up with their own estimate of how much it will cost to implement.) 2) Work requirements would disproportionately hurt rural Montanans . 3) Montana’s existing HELP-Link program meets workforce needs better than work requirements.   Why are work requirements even being considered? In essence, it's a conservative theory adopted by the Trump administration, and urged upon states, that " sustained employment or other productive community engagement leads to improved he...

Keenan Caferro Buttrey Big Fork Republican Bob Keenan says he will introduce a third bill to decide the fate of Medicaid expansion in Montana. Keenan appears to be focusing on reducing the number of people enrolled through more rigorous screening and putting more responsibility on recipients to get healthier. His bill would also extend Medicaid expansion for just four years. Keenan's bill would join a bill still being drafted by Great Falls Republican Ed Buttrey, who wants to add work or "community engagement" requirements for recipients. Democrat Mary Caffero's bill would pretty much maintain Medicaid expansion as it is now written. Hearings on these bills are not yet scheduled but expected around mid-March.

In an op-ed in Wednesday's Missoulian supporting Medicaid expansion, ACLU executive director Caitlin Borgmann makes two additional points that haven't received much attention: 1) Medicaid expansion enhances public safety . Unsurprisingly,  crime rates fall with increasing access to mental health care and treatment for substance use disorders. This relationship was recently emphasized by UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research , which found that social benefits from reduced crime due to Medicaid expansion amounts to the billions of dollars. 2) Medicaid expansion " also helps those on probation and parole successfully find their way out of the system" again through greater access to health services for mental health and substance abuse issues.

Members of Holy Spirit's advocacy group have written and sent letters supporting Medicaid Expansion to the Joint Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services. Here are the letters: February 6, 2019 Rep. Eric Moore, House District 37 487 Signal Butte Rd. Miles City, MT 59301-9205 Dear Rep. Moore: Thank you for your service in our citizen legislature for the past decade and particularly as current chair of the Joint Health and Human Services Committee. We appreciate the difficult choices you must make.  Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Missoula, with approximately 850 members, is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Montana, as is Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Miles City. Under the guidance and leadership of our national church and state diocese, and as Christians, we take seriously Jesus’ example of caring for the marginalized: those who are poor, widowed, ill, and orphaned—people who lack power and influence.  "Truly I ...

Medicaid Expansion would become permanent and there would be no work requirements, according to a bill, HB 425,  introduced by Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena. The bill would raise about $15 million in fees on hospital beds and outpatient revenue and it asks the Legislature to appropriate $6 million to  fund the state’s innovative HELP-link work training program, a voluntary program unlike the language in the Republican bill that would mandate work or "community engagement."

The health of thousands of residents able to enroll in Medicaid with the advent of Medicaid expansion in Montana since 2016 has been improving, according to a new study commissioned by the Montana Healthcare Foundation. The study " shows that receiving coverage under Medicaid expansion has allowed Montanans to access needed medical care,” said MHCF CEO Dr. Aaron Wernham. “As a consequence, even so early in this program, many recipients already report that they are healthier.” Data now being reported monthly by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services indicate that: • More than 90,000 enrollees have received preventive health services. • Nearly 2,500 possible cases of colon cancer have been identified and averted. • Nearly 1,000 people have been newly diagnosed and treated for diabetes. • Nearly 40,000 people have now received outpatient mental health and substance use services, which is expected to help prevent more severe and costly residential and inpa...

A hard look by economists at the first two and a half years of Medicaid Expansion in Montana makes it clear that the program is paying for itself, while bringing more than $600 million into Montana that would not otherwise be here. "While the state pays a nominal amount for these benefits," the report's authors state, "the costs to the state budget are more than offset by the savings created by Medicaid expansion and by the revenues associated with increased economic activity." The report by the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research, commissioned by Montana Healthcare Foundation and Headwaters Foundation, updates a previous report submitted 10 months ago. With mostly federal dollars, Medicaid expansion provided beneficiaries with nearly $1.4 billion of health care they would not otherwise have had, the report adds. The authors estimate that it will generate between 5,900 and 7,500 jobs and between $350-$385 million in personal income annually betw...