The Truth: Medicaid Works for Montana

We stand with 60 hospitals that signed on to this letter to state: we don’t think healthcare should be political, but when we see political campaigns spreading misinformation about our state’s healthcare, we will set the record straight.

Fact: Medicaid is essential to keeping our hospital doors open and reducing the burden of uncompensated care that would otherwise fall on taxpayers. 

Medicaid ensures Montanans, especially those in rural communities, can receive care close to home rather than delaying treatment or traveling a hundred miles or more. It has also dramatically strengthened our ability to respond to the opioid crisis and other substance use disorders, while providing critical, stable funding for mental health services in communities where those resources are often scarce.

A healthy workforce is the foundation of Montana’s small-business economy, and Medicaid plays a key role in keeping people working. It helps reduce absenteeism, lowers health-related costs, and allows workers to seek care early instead of waiting until a preventable condition becomes a medical emergency. Nearly all Montanans enrolled in Medicaid expansion are working.

Unfortunately, national groups are now renewing their attacks on Montana’s Medicaid solution and the legislators who supported it.  

Ending the policy would increase healthcare costs, increase pressure on local taxpayers, and threaten the financial stability of hospitals across our state. The ripple effects would be felt in every community and throughout Montana’s economy.

That’s why Montana’s hospitals, along with doctors, nurses, behavioral health providers, the Montana Chamber of Commerce, and AARP Montana, have consistently recognized that Medicaid works for Montana. We are grateful to the legislators who looked at the facts, listened to their communities, and voted to renew this critical program - a decision signed into law by Governor Gianforte.

The reality is clear: this debate is not being driven by Montanans. Recent polling shows that 85 percent of Montanans support keeping Montana Medicaid as it is today.

Montana has spent more than ten years designing its own version of a Medicaid program that gets results and does it with less taxpayer money than most other states in the nation. Instead of being attacked, these leaders deserve thanks for standing up for Montana healthcare, a strong economy, and a responsible state budget.