Montana

Medicaid expansion bills spur hours of testimony in first hearings

Published

4 days ago

January 23, 2025

Medicaid expansion bills spur hours of testimony in first hearings

Two Montana lawmakers, one Republican and one Democratic, advocated Wednesday for their strategies to continue Medicaid expansion, while another Republican pitched his plan to end the state’s program. The bill hearings triggered hours of testimony from supporters of the low-income health coverage plan, scheduled to sunset this year unless extended by legislators.

People who wanted to speak before lawmakers about the three bills packed committee rooms, spurring nearly five hours of hearings that stretched until 7:30 p.m. The fate of Medicaid expansion is anticipated to be one of the most hotly debated policies in the 90-day legislative session.

“Medicaid expansion has been transformative,” said Gene Small, president of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, one of dozens of proponents who appealed to lawmakers to continue the program. “Moving forward with this legislation is the moral choice for the most vulnerable among us.”

Medicaid, a decades-old public health program created by Congress, was expanded to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level under the Affordable Care Act, an option that 41 states decided to adopt. A bipartisan group of Montana lawmakers voted to extend coverage to that population in 2015 under the Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP) Act. State legislators agreed to renew the law in 2019.

The cost of the expanded program, used by more than 76,000 Montana adults as of October, is almost entirely covered by the federal government. The upfront cost to the state’s coffers was roughly $100 million in the last fiscal year.

As the program has grown in size and expense, so too has opposition among a coalition of Republican lawmakers, driving a wedge in the GOP caucus. Original estimates forecasted that roughly 45,000 people would be enrolled by 2019.

Two Republican-sponsored bills heard Wednesday would create dramatically different paths for the future of the program. The GOP holds wide majorities in both the House and Senate, but it’s unclear how party members will respond to Medicaid expansion proposals that reach the floor. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has indicated support for the program continuing in some form.

House Bill 245, sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, would strike the termination date from the HELP Act and adjust the work requirements that lawmakers passed in 2019. Those requirements were later blocked by the Biden administration and never took effect.

Buttrey, who successfully sponsored Medicaid expansion in prior sessions by building a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans, told lawmakers on the House Human Services Committee Wednesday that continuing the program was essential for uplifting people struggling to make ends meet and for Montana’s broader business landscape.

“If as legislators we choose to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the physical and mental needs of our low-income population in Montana, to ignore the addiction issues that we have and ignore the value of a healthy and unaddicted workforce, we will pay for it down the road,” Buttrey said. “And we’ll pay a heck of a lot more than we’re paying now.”

Buttrey, who appeared on the verge of tears while reflecting on the policy’s history, also stressed the overall impact Medicaid expansion has had on Montana’s economic landscape and state budget.

“We’ve created a system that, unlike in other states, actually moves people out of poverty and onto their own success. Our system puts health care back in the doctor’s offices and out of the emergency rooms. Our system has enhanced the pool of workers available to our businesses,” Buttrey said. “All of this while providing positive savings to our General Fund and to the taxpayers of Montana.”

Buttrey’s bill received support from more than 60 people, testifying in person and online. Many drove across the state to speak in favor of Buttrey’s proposal, stressing its importance to rural and tribal communities. None spoke in opposition.

A very different Republican proposal, introduced by Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, was heard at the same time in a committee room down the hallway of the state Capitol.

Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, speaks to lawmakers on the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee at the Capitol in Helena on Jan. 22, 2025. Glimm’s bill, Senate Bill 62, would phase out enrollment in the Medicaid expansion program beginning later this year. Credit: Zeke Lloyd / MTFP

Glimm’s bill, Senate Bill 62, would phase out the Medicaid expansion program beginning later this year. The measure directs the state health department to stop accepting new enrollees beginning Sept. 1.

“People that don’t qualify anymore will start to work themselves off and eventually we would not have anybody on Medicaid expansion,” Glimm told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee.

Glimm, in arguing to end expansion, cited concerns that the federal government could change its contributions to Medicaid, leaving Montana on the hook for more than the 10% of the program it currently pays for. Glimm also argued that Medicaid expansion unjustly subsidizes health coverage for unemployed people who don’t have disabilities.

“This is a financial choice that the state of Montana needs to make,” Glimm said in his prepared remarks. “We need to look at the risks and the benefits and we need to say that able-bodied working adults should be working.”

No proponents spoke in favor of the legislation. Fourteen opponents spoke against the bill, most of whom were representatives of health care coalitions, nonprofit organizations and tribal health groups.

“Medicaid expansion has strengthened the foundation of our health care system, invested in a healthier and more productive workforce and created stronger, more vibrant communities,” said Tylyn Newcomb, community engagement director at the Montana Nonprofit Association.

The governor’s budget office issued a fiscal note for Glimm’s proposal projecting a loss of more than $1.5 billion in federal funds and a cost of more than $800 million to the state General Fund over the next two years if officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declined to continue the current match rate. Glimm told lawmakers he was contesting that calculation, arguing the federal government would continue shouldering 90% of coverage costs for the remaining beneficiaries until the program ends.

The third bill heard Wednesday, House Bill 230, sponsored by Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, would also strike the HELP Act’s termination date and aim to eliminate access hurdles for enrollees. The bill would provide 12 months of continuous eligibility for beneficiaries. It would also strike the HELP Act’s work requirement provision, which Caferro argued are unnecessary.

Caferro’s legislation also proposes reopening 10 Offices of Public Assistance in rural parts of the state, many of which closed after state budget cuts in 2017. Her bill would also seek to improve communication between enrollees and the state health department by allowing text messages and email communication and creating an advisory board for beneficiaries.

Caferro described the bill to members of the House Human Services Committee as a measure to make the existing program more efficient, particularly after tens of thousands of people lost Medicaid coverage during the state’s mass eligibility review in 2023 and 2024.

“It takes opportunities to solve problems, creates efficiencies in government … creates accountability in government through public reporting requirements, and transparency in government through a public advisory committee,” Caferro said. “It makes government work for the people.”

About 30 proponents of the bill, many of whom also spoke in favor of Buttrey’s legislation, said it would shore up services for rural residents struggling to navigate a dense web of state bureaucracy, sometimes facing paperwork delays that push back health care services for months.

All three bills must be supported by a majority of lawmakers on each committee in order to advance to the House and Senate floors. Lawmakers did not vote on the legislation Wednesday night.

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Related Topics:2025 legislature Carl Glimm ed buttrey Featured House Bill 230 House Bill 245 Mary Caferro Medicaid expansion Senate Bill 62

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Montana

Montana Lottery Lucky For Life, Big Sky Bonus results for Jan. 26, 2025

Published

8 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 26, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 26 drawing

01-10-21-28-40, Lucky Ball: 11

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Jan. 26 drawing

04-07-22-30, Bonus: 01

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Arrival Of 2 New Businesses Means There’s More Than A Bar In Tiny Pony, Montana

Published

19 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Arrival Of 2 New Businesses Means There’s More Than A Bar In Tiny Pony, Montana

PONY, Montana — The old joke goes something like this: “Bozeman is great, it’s only an hour from Montana.”

Cringey to some, all-too-true to others, this hackneyed one-liner springs from an understanding among Bozeman locals that life an hour outside the city is totally different, and in some ways, more authentically “Montanan.”

Exhibit A: Pony, Montana, the postcard-perfect collection of architectural relics an hour west of Bozeman. The snowcapped Tobacco Root Mountains rise in the near distance above the ambitiously named Broadway Avenue in the heart of downtown Pony, population 137.

In 1922, mining operations ceased around Pony and for the last several decades Broadway has been home to the Pony Bar, the local senior center and not much else.

But then this past summer, locals started to notice a slightly quickened pulse on Broadway.

A craft lighting and light fixtures outlet opened, and the brown paper covering the storefront windows at the old Isdell Mercantile and kept curious onlookers wondering what was afoot inside at 209 Broadway Ave.

“We were keeping it kind of top secret in here, because I wanted to surprise, and it got really fun to do,” said the building’s owner, Dan DeFrance.

The mercantile was the heart Pony when it boomed. Now the Isdell Merc aims to be the heart of its soul as a gathering spot, open for business as an event space.

Over the holidays, The Doors cover band Mojo Risin — its members met in Pony — played to a crowd not used to having more than one music venue on Broadway. The Pony Bar remains a treasured musical outpost, where patrons are known to pull the vent cover off the heating system and play it like a washboard.

Looking ahead, said DeFrance, there’s a wedding planned for the space, which is a bit warmer than before thanks to new insulation in the ceiling. Anyone who wants to rent the space can contact DeFrance through the new website he built using the same web software DeFrance teaches as a computer science professor at Montana State University.

DeFrance said that as long as he has 48 hours notice, heating the space with the wood stove that doubles as a pizza oven shouldn’t be a problem. But it does take a full day of well-stoked fires to heat up the place.

How It Came Together

“It started gaining momentum, I’d say in the last four or five years, people started getting interested in it when we started putting in glass windows. Then we repainted the sign out front,” said DeFrance. “My brother-in-law is a stonemason, so he was able to repair the damage. Stonework and brickwork on top. Then it just started getting noticed and people started getting excited about it. They get excited, and I get more excited. It starts this cycle of excitement.”

What is the Isdell Merc, exactly? Does it have a mission statement?

“The mission statement is to write a mission statement,” DeFrance told Cowboy State Daily back on Sept. 7, the Merc’s official grand opening. “For today, it was kind of just to open up the place. Get people interested.”

Since September, DeFrance’s family and friends continue to look for ways to use all the antiques stored in the Merc’s basement, including a cheese cutter from the 1800s.

Carl Pearson, who runs IronGlass Lighting across Broadway Avenue from the Merc, crafts glass and iron light fixtures that look like they were made in the 1800s.

“We call this Old World glass. We do it in the kiln,” said Pearson.

Turns out, Pearson is an early urban pioneer in downtown Pony.

“I bought the old Chrysler Dealership (in Pony) about 10 years ago,” he said.

Like DeFrance, Pearson has seen enthusiasm for renovating Pony’s historic buildings slowly grow.

“All of us are trying to revive it,” said Pearson.

Pearson is consulting old photos and plans to adorn his newly renovated IronGlass Lighting building with a stylish western facade. He also expects to team up with the owner of the Morris State Bank building, where he said a significant renovation is well underway.

Boom Times Of Old

There was a time when the Morris State Bank and the Isdell Mercantile were big businesses in Madison County.

According to Archives West, the Isdell Mercantile Co. was created in 1869 by N. J. Isdell, and its success along with Morris State Bank led the local Madisonian newspaper to call Pony the “metropolis of the Madison Valley.”

The Isdell Mercantile provided hardware, mining supplies, and various dry goods to the community, which once had a population over 1,000 in 1900. The business remained in family hands for decades, with Eli S. Adkins (Isdell’s son-in-law) serving as president when the company finally closed its doors in the early 1940s, according to a local website that documents the region’s historic sites.

DeFrance said Adkins sold the building to DeFrance’s grandmother sometime in the 1960s.

“And then, it just got filled with junk for several decades,” said DeFrance. “My dad was a builder, he was a contractor. So if he had leftover lumber or materials, it would go in here. Motorbikes, broken dishwashers, all goes in here, for decades.”

“It was kind of creepy to me,” said DeFrance, remembering time spent as a kid in the abandoned space. “There were no lights. This was boarded up.”

Part Of A Trend?

Today, the Isdell Merc joins other restored mercantile buildings across Montana from the Polebridge Merc outside Glacier National Park to the Virgelle Merc in the heart of Missouri River country near Fort Benton.

During one recent event, DeFrance said he met someone who owns an old building in the mostly abandoned town of Maudlow, Montana, who was inspired by the renovation work done in Pony.

By restoring Pony’s Merc, DeFrance put the Isdell back on the map, while finding a place for himself in his family’s history.

“My dad grew up here,” said DeFrance of Pony. “His dad grew up here. His dad grew up here. A lot of DeFrance guys grew up here, but I did not. But I grew up nearby and I traveled here often. And I’m traveling here more than ever now.”

In an interview with Cowboy State Daily on Thursday, DeFrance reflected on Pony’s contribution to the cultural landscape of Southwest Montana. He described it as a throwback location that provides something that’s harder to find in nearby Bozeman.

“The people came to Montana and then once they’re in Bozeman, they’re like, ‘Wait, where did Montana go?’” said DeFrance. “But you hit the road for a little bit and it’s definitely still Montana in these little towns. I think Pony is definitely, to me anyway, it’s the quintessential little Montana town.”

Contact David Madison at david@cowboystatedaily.com

Left, Dan DeFrance, a computer scientist and co-conspirator in the recent push to revitalize Pony’s historic buildings. Right, It takes a full day of stoking fires in the Merc’s wood stove to heat up the place. It also doubles as a pizza oven. (David Madison, Cowboy State Daily ; Courtesy Dan DeFrance)

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Montana

Johnson's 25 lead Montana past Montana State 77-70

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Johnson's 25 lead Montana past Montana State 77-70

MISSOULA, Mont. — Kai Johnson’s 25 points helped Montana defeat Montana State 77-70 on Saturday night.

Johnson shot 11 for 18 (0 for 3 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Grizzlies (13-8, 6-2 Big Sky Conference). Joe Pridgen scored 14 points and added six rebounds. Malik Moore went 4 of 9 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points.

The Bobcats (8-13, 3-5) were led by Patrick McMahon, who posted 18 points. Brandon Walker added 11 points for Montana State. Bryce Zephir also put up 10 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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