Power Play

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

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Medicaid Expansion in Montana Pays for Itself

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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...
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GOP offers a peek at Medicaid Expansion

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Here is the f irst look at the Republican approach to Medicaid Expansion , based on an interview by NPR with GOP Rep. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, who is leading his party's effort. As expected, Buttrey's bill proposes some contributions from recipients, what Republicans call "skin in the game." There would be an  80-hour per month requirement to enroll in community engagement for certain people covered by the program. Buttrey anticipates that this requirement would cut the number of enrollees, but not by a lot. "Community engagement" could be hours worked on the job, or hours spent in a substance use disorder treatment, or in different types of counseling. And there would be some exemptions for people, such as for full-time caregivers, people with disabilities, people over the age of 65, pregnant women in their last trimester. Medicaid enrollees would have 180 days to comply.  To help pay for the higher cost for tMedicaid Expansion (and slightly lower f...
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Holy Spirit's Op-Ed

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Published in today's Missoulian ( Sunday, March 10, p. E3 ): Medicaid Expansion Works As Is We at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, drawing on our religious traditions, scripture, and the ministry and example of Jesus, support continuing Medicaid Expansion to care for those who simply cannot afford other health care.   Former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, Desmond Tutu, once said, “...the good news to a hungry person is bread.” He could just as well have said that the good news to a sick -person is health care. Jesus' ministry was filled with healing the sick. He cured them, gave them back their health, renewed life, and restored.   He told us to do likewise. Medicaid Expansion in Montana will expire in June unless continued by the State Legislature. Few people have anything but praise for this program. Some 95,000 Montanans have coverage they didn't have before. They receive medical care earlier, which many recipients say has improved thei...
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