Should Medicaid Expansion be Renewed in the Upcoming Legislature?

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Should Medicaid Expansion be renewed in the upcoming 2025 Montana legislative session?

That is the question; and to help inform the KGVO Talk Back audience on the issue, it was time for another Missoula ECON 101 session, featuring Grant Kier, CEO of the Missoula Economic Partnership, and visiting economist Bryce Ward.

Ward began by explaining the situation faced by the upcoming session as it regards Medicaid Expansion.

Missoula Econ 101 Asked 'Should Medicaid Expansion be Renewed'?

“In 2016 Montana expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act,” began Ward. “What that meant was, if you went in 2015 and you were between the ages of 19 and 64, you were an adult, and the only way to get on Medicaid was to be a parent with an income below roughly 50 percent of the federal poverty line, to have some sort of qualifying disability, or there's pregnancy or some other smaller category.”

Ward inferred that if the state failed to renew Medicaid Expansion, the people of Montana would have fewer instead of more affordable healthcare choices.

Economist Bryce Ward Said if Expansion is Not Renewed We Would Lose Benefits

“In the big picture, if we give back Medicaid Expansion, we lose those benefits,” he said. “This is the important thing, from the state's perspective; we don't get anything in return. The federal government doesn't go, ‘Oh, we were going to spend $900 million on Medicaid in your state. Well, here's a tax break, or here's a grant. No. We just give the money back to Washington, D.C. and we just leave it there.”

Grant Kier, CEO of the Missoula Economic Partnership, whose main focus is building Missoula’s economy, expressed his deep concerns about what will happen if the program is not renewed.

“We know the number one issue facing small businesses in Montana right now is workforce, and we know that the biggest challenge to attracting workforce is cost of living and affordability, and affordability compared to wages,” he said. “What I can tell you right now is we are seeing small businesses shut down in our community because they are not able to attract the workforce. They need to stay open the same number of hours just to function.”

Grant Kier Said His Organization is Concerned That Businesses Might Leave

Kier went on to state plainly that the additional pressure of losing Medicaid Expansion would be another reason for businesses to leave Missoula and Montana.

“One of the things that really compels the workforce to think about where they should take their labor is the cost of living compared to wages,” he said. “So, if we have high housing costs and we throw at our workforce unpredictable or high insurance costs or health care costs on top of that, I worry that we risk losing our workforce to other states that are out-competing us by renewing this and committing this to their workforce and lower-wage employees so that we'll have an even harder time for our small businesses to move forward.”

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I suggested that listeners contact their state legislators to encourage them to continue Medicaid Expansion in the next session.