Medicaid

More than 100 people from across the state gathered in the Montana Capitol rotunda on Wednesday to protest cuts to Medicaid as well as new work requirements to access the health insurance program.

Most people on Medicaid expansion will need to show they’re working, in school or doing other qualifying activities in order to remain eligible.

Montana plans to be one of the first states to enforce President Donald Trump’s work mandate for Medicaid enrollees, adding another challenge for state health officials trying to plug a massive budget hole.

Montana officials said they are moving forward with plans to allow Medicaid to pay doulas, reversing a previous statement that budget problems had prompted them to pause the effort to reimburse the birth workers.

Emily Marburger writes, "Dysfunction, denials, disappointment – welcome to Governor Gianforte’s Montana Medicaid."

Lawmakers from liberal and conservative states said they are still grappling with the implications of Trump’s signature legislation.

The states that have filed or plan to file such applications with work requirements include Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.

For years, states have been taxing health care providers to draw down additional federal funds for their Medicaid programs.

The trickle-down impacts of federal cuts to Medicaid and the potential budget disaster have some local officials concerned.

As Congress mulls potentially massive cuts to federal Medicaid funding, health centers that serve Native American communities are bracing for catastrophe.