Medicaid Expansion in Montana Pays for Itself

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 between 2018 and 2020. This represents approximately one percent of Montana’s total employment and income.
During its first five years, Medicaid expansion is expected to generate approximately $1.6 billion in personal income and $2.1 billion in gross domestic product.