Montana to continue Medicaid expansion, pursue work requirement

The Montana legislature last week passed legislation funding Medicaid coverage for low-income adults for six more years. Under the legislation, the state also will pursue a waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to add a work requirement for certain healthy adults. “We’re grateful for the bipartisan team of legislative leaders in the House and Senate who were willing to reach across the aisle because they know Montana Medicaid works,” said Montana Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Rasmussen. “This was a true bipartisan effort, including hard work by Governor Bullock, to protect Medicaid coverage for 96,000 of our neighbors, benefit businesses in every county in Montana, secure over 9,700 jobs and drive $2 billion in economic stimulus into our communities.” A Montana ballot initiative last November that would have provided funding to continue Medicaid expansion failed by a narrow margin. The Trump administration this month appealed a recent federal court ruling that blocked Medicaid work requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas.