State could study impact of fed funding changes on DPHHS

Emma White

(UM Legislative News Service) As federal headwinds continue to swirl, state legislators are considering a study on how shifting funding will affect Montana’s largest state agency, the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

House Resolution 66, proposed by Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, would set aside time before the next Legislature convenes in 2027 to examine the impacts of federal funding changes to the healthcare system.

Howell said the study is a proactive step to address the turbulent federal climate. Federal funding makes up 68.3% of the Montana DPHHS budget and either fully pays or partially pays for more than 2,000 full-time equivalent positions in the agency, according to the bill.

“I think that this is responsive to a new landscape at the federal level, and that it’s worth us … being proactive and really articulating as a Legislature that we want to make sure this is done,” Howell said.

Three people spoke in support of the resolution at a committee hearing Tuesday, including Ingrid Lovitt, Director of Government Relations at Shodair Children’s Hospital. She said Shodair is highly dependent on federal funds, and the study will address possible changes in a proactive way.

“Shodair served children from 56 of 56 Montana counties last year, and often those children are coming to us straight from the emergency room or straight from other environments where we are the only place for them to go,” Lovitt said. “Without our facility, those children could be very easily sent out of state.”

There were no opponents at the first hearing.