Montana

Montana Senate votes down bill to narrow eligibility for Medicaid expansion

Published

3 months ago

March 7, 2025

Montana Senate votes down bill to narrow eligibility for Medicaid expansion

HELENA — As the Montana Legislature continued its second day of marathon debates ahead of Friday’s transmittal deadline, the state Senate voted one more time on Medicaid expansion.

(Watch the video to see more from Thursday’s debate on Medicaid expansion.)

Montana Seante debates Medicaid Expansion

House Bill 245 – the main bill to renew Medicaid expansion in the state – passed the Legislature last week. However, Senate President Sen. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, said it was worth having one more discussion about how the program should be structured.

“Whether it’s this bill, this program, a lot of things that we do here at government, we need to stop and take a look at what’s the end goal,” he said Thursday.

Senators narrowly rejected Regier’s Senate Bill 334, on a 24-26 vote.

Regier argued his bill was “stackable” with the existing program, not in competition with it – but it would make significant changes. SB 334 would have required the state to ask for and receive a waiver from the federal government and implement “community engagement” requirements in order to offer Medicaid expansion. The current state law calls for community engagement – requiring those on Medicaid expansion to spend 80 hours a month on work, education, workforce training, volunteering or other approved activities – but federal authorities haven’t yet allowed the state to implement those requirements.

SB 334 also would have lowered the maximum income level to be eligible for Medicaid expansion, from 138% of the federal poverty level to 100%. Regier said that would mean about 14,000 people currently on the program would no longer be eligible, but he argued those people now have other options for health coverage, including getting insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

“Are we going to judge a program on how many people we can put on it, or judge a welfare safety net program as its success of not needing it anymore – how many people can be off of it and be self-sufficient to where we don’t even need that program anymore?” Regier asked. “To me, that is more of a definition of success.”

However, opponents of SB 334 said lawmakers had already weighed in on the Medicaid expansion program – by passing HB 245, which essentially continued it as it is currently. They said the bill would undermine a system that’s already working.

“This bill coming now is a fix that we really don’t need,” said Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester.

“What we are essentially doing is we are taking people who are working hard – they’re hard-working Montanans in our small businesses, in all of our communities who are trying to make things work – and we’re making it harder for them,” said Sen. Emma Kerr-Carpenter, D-Billings.

The Senate passed HB 245 30-20 on a final vote last Thursday. Earlier this session, senators also voted down Senate Bill 62, which would have begun phasing out the Medicaid expansion program.

Source link

Click to comment

Montana

Montana Lottery Lucky For Life, Lotto America results for May 21, 2025

Published

15 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at May 21, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 21 drawing

08-23-32-40-45, Lucky Ball: 18

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from May 21 drawing

01-14-15-19-31, Star Ball: 09, ASB: 03

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 21 drawing

02-06-08-15, Bonus: 03

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 21 drawing

14-23-26-36-42

Check Montana Cash 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 York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, 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.

Source link

Montana

Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Lucky For Life results for May 20, 2025

Published

1 day ago

May 21, 2025

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at May 20, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 20 drawing

18-30-33-55-64, Mega Ball: 11

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 20 drawing

05-06-16-29-34, Lucky Ball: 08

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 20 drawing

01-15-20-25, Bonus: 12

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.

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.

Source link

Montana

Montana Viewpoint: The Big (true) Beautiful (not really) Bill

Published

2 days ago

May 20, 2025

Press Room

Montana Viewpoint: The Big (true) Beautiful (not really) Bill

Jim Elliott

After all the concern about runaway government spending and the hand wringing about the budget deficit why on earth would Congress want to pass a tax bill that cuts taxes for the 400-plus American billionaires, pays for it by penalizing sick and lower income people and STILL increases the deficit by $3 trillion?

And, why on earth would the administration want to cut the IRS, the people that actually collect the taxes and root out tax fraud?

There’s an easy answer—to cut government by lowering the amount of money available to spend.

And that doesn’t sound like a bad thing until you look at what the American people ask government to do. When I talked to people who decried government spending years ago, I would ask them what government programs that they used would they recommend for elimination. Oh, well, that’s different. Ask your own self that question.

There is, and has been for a long time, a movement that wants to reduce government to the point where they can “drown it in a bathtub”. That’s a cute way to put it, but they are serious and now they are being successful. The reason for doing that is to get government out of the way and let them make as much money as they want.

Billionaires don’t need government like regular people do. They do not need government health care insurance, they do not have to rely on local police, they can pay out of their own vast wealth for all the things that regular people need. They can hire their own security, live in gated communities, keep a doctor on their personal staff. Well, good for them, but why should they make it hard for the rest of us?

It is hard to find a calm analysis of the “Big Beautiful Bill” Most of the Republicans think it is wonderful, for the Democrats it will be the end of the world as we know it. In truth, there will be tax advantages for most people, but there will also be increased hardship for those Americans who are sick and poor. The “deserving” sick or poor, I mean.

There will be work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP (which used to be called food stamps). That’s to lower the cost to the government and to cut down on fraud. Perhaps that’s to make being sick and hungry more attractive. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana has claimed that there is an annual $50 billion in “fraudulent payments” to Medicaid. But that flies in the face of reality because such fraud as is being committed is committed by Medicaid providers, not patients. At the same time the President is cutting the number of Inspectors General who are the people who are supposed to ride herd on fraud. All this from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

So, America’s taxpayers with incomes over a million dollars a year will get a huge tax cut. They already award themselves an estimated $150 billion a year through tax evasion according to the IRS. In 2022 (the last year for which I can find information) the IRS estimated that there was $609 billion lost to tax evaders. Collecting that would offset the projected deficit in the bill in five years.

We will see what we will get, but I will always be amazed at those American billionaires for whom too much is not enough.

Montana Viewpoint has appeared in weekly and online newspapers across Montana for over 30 years. Jim Elliott served sixteen years in the Montana Legislature as a state representative and state senator. He lives on his ranch in Trout Creek.

Source link