Montana
Montana's Medicaid disenrollment is even a bigger catastrophe than previously reported – Daily Montanan
You wouldn’t believe how many different ways I tried to begin this column trying to find the perfect analogy or phrase to sum up just how badly the Gianforte administration has handled Medicaid in Montana.
Describing it as a dumpster fire, for example, would imply that a raging fire is contained in a small space. More importantly, it says nothing about the real Montanans who lives are upended by what is a political decision that has more to do with Republicans trying to out-Republican each other than it does with being earnestly concerned about fraud, the reason given for making Medicaid enrollment so severe in Montana.
Our ideologue governor has taken a system that was often cited as a model of how the Medicaid expansion could work and dismantled it, hurting Montanans who struggle, hospitals and healthcare professionals, and reneging on a financial set-up so sweet that it should make anyone with a little business acumen scratch their head.
Let’s begin with the basics: After the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone, including the federal government, knew that Medicaid rolls would need to be trimmed, and expected that many who were previously eligible would drop because they had either restarted employment or found a new job.
But Montana’s number of people dropped from the public insurance enrollment has literally been extraordinary. As it stands right now, 10% of the state’s entire population has been dropped – a sheer number that should raise eyebrows.
The Gianforte administration in its zeal to attack a successful government program that has meant better health for residents as well as more stability for our stretched rural-centered healthcare, has also thumbed their noses at a deal that costs the state just a fraction of what it could be spending. For every dime the state contributes toward Medicaid, Montana receives 90 cents from the federal government. Virtually no other state gets a deal quite this sweet, and if the Gianforte administration had half of the business acumen it touts, it would be doing everything it could to take advantage of this deal.
Who wouldn’t take a deal that guaranteed giving us nine times the money we invest?
Setting aside the most important point that seems to get lost in every Medicaid policy discussion: The effect of Medicaid expansion in Montana has meant that residents are living healthier lives because they have insurance, and Medicaid has also meant a financial lifeline to hospitals who were strapped with a growing number of uninsured and underinsured patients.
These rural healthcare facilities in Montana are often the economic backbones of smaller communities, often being the largest private employer in rural communities. What the Gianforte administration has done, with the legislature’s approval, is threaten the viability of rural healthcare in the state by booting residents off the Medicaid rolls, leaving those already strapped healthcare organizations to absorb the loss. The lawmakers decided that Montana should “redetermine” eligibility more quickly, meaning there’s more churn to Medicaid, meaning more instability for residents and the healthcare they rely upon. Look no farther than what has happened to our rural nursing homes to see the results of not funding healthcare adequately.
But don’t take my word for it, look at the statistics. Montana has been booting residents from the Medicaid roll at a clip that is around three times more than average nationally. What makes that fact even more troubling is the inconsistent, if not conflicting, reports lawmakers have gotten from the Department of Public Health and Human Services, whose answers have more closely resembled a choose-your-own-adventure book than transparency.
You may recall that as Montana started its Medicaid purge, the Biden administration placed the state on notice that it was booting residents so quickly while at the same time seeming to ignore that the state had created a situation that was nearly impossible for those same residents to talk to a live person to get help.
Keep in mind that Gianforte himself made close to a billion dollars by creating a technology company that served to create customer service call centers. So much, apparently, for running the state like a business. This should have been something that Gianforte could have solved himself.
As lawmakers from both parties expressed concern that Montana was booting too many residents too quickly off Medicaid, DPHHS director Charlie Brereton quipped that the state could actually speed up the process – a sort of veiled threat that lawmakers should step lightly.
Yet last week, when lawmakers continued to press for answers about why so many people were losing insurance, as well as other related matters, Brereton told legislators that his staff were so taxed, and spread so thin that they simply don’t have time to answer their questions – the same people who are charged with making policy decisions about this essential care.
So, I’ll ask: Which is it, Mr. Brereton? Is it that your staff could boot Montana residents even more quickly from health insurance that they need, or is it that you can’t even provide answers because your staff is so overworked?
An equally plausible answer is that the administration could start bumping off residents from Medicaid more quickly and won’t answer the lawmakers’ questions because the state is carrying out a political decision that has little to do with ensuring Montanans’ health, making a sound financial decision or worrying about the economic health or rural Montana.
Let me put it bluntly, though – in terms that would normally be hyperbole, but, in this case, are literal.
When people don’t have insurance, they suffer more and die sooner.
When rural healthcare facilities see a rise in uncompensated, uninsured patients, they close.
When lawmakers can’t get answers from their partners in government, public trust is eroded and government moves from function to dysfunction.
Maybe the Gianforte administration can help me: How is any of this an example of good government?
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 9 drawing
08-21-24-29, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 9 drawing
02-15-22-54-58, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life 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.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
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.
A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists…
A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists out of the party ranks.
Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael F. McMahon issued the restraining order Wednesday morning. The order had been requested by county precinct committees and officers suing the state party organization over the new bylaws. The plaintiffs are the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee, the Choteau County Republican Central Committee, and individual committee members Jeff Essmann, Ted Kronebusch, James Wilson and state Rep. Brad Barker, R-Red Lodge.
At issue are bylaws passed during MTGOP’s June platform convention that the litigating party members say amount to “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” The new bylaws require members to pay $20 in annual membership dues and pledge a loyalty oath, and subject members to removal from elected party positions for nonpayment of dues or for “conduct deemed inconsistent with party purposes,” as determined by executive party party officers. The new bylaws allow charges for removal to be brought by any 20 official Republican Party members.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich, the only official spokesperson for the state party, has not responded to voicemails and texts sent to his cell phone Wednesday. Wittich, elected party chairman in June 2025, has long been emphatic about exposing “Democrats disguised as Republicans” — for Wittich a now decade-old battle that spun into a bitter multimillion-dollar war between party hardliners and relative centrists in this spring’s Republican legislative primaries.
The centrists drew the ire of the hardliners in 2025 by collaborating with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and legislative Democrats to pass a balanced state budget and key pieces of legislation, including increased taxes on second homes and property tax reductions for primary residences and small businesses.
What constitutes disqualifying conduct isn’t fully spelled out in the bylaws, but they do specify that “collaborating with Democrats” in the Legislature, the governor’s office, the courts, or elections can get members disciplined or removed.
The lawsuit alleges that “The 2026 bylaws empower a small group within the party to revoke Republican affiliation from candidates or office holders, undoing primary nominations by the electorate.”
The plaintiffs argue that Montana voters, not party bylaws, should determine who represents the Republican Party in general elections and who represents voting precincts on the publicly elected county-level Republican committees that coordinate local political activity.
The Montana Legislature in 2019 passed a bill protecting publicly elected party precinct committee officers from being arbitrarily removed from office and defined attempts to do so as “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” That law, sparked by Republican Party infighting 10 years ago, is the foundation of the current lawsuit.
There has been a surge of public interest in Republican precinct-level politics following a perceived lack of support by party hardliners for Republican candidates in conservative strongholds like Flathead County, where more than 60 new precinct committeemen and committeewomen were elected in June. That wave of new officers was preceded by Flathead County Republican Central Committee members considering an endorsement of Libertarian Sid Daoud for Kalispell mayor over Republican Kisa Davison in late 2025. The Kalispell mayor’s race is nonpartisan, but Republicans have gone to court to secure the party’s right to endorse candidates in nonpartisan races.
Wittich’s own campaign for precinct committeeman representing Whitefish was a casualty of that new wave of public interest. He lost to Republican Giuseppe “G-man” Caltabiano, who serves on the Whitefish City Council.
Caltabiano’s wife, Roxanne Ross, defeated Candace Wittich, wife of the Republican chair, in the same election.
State law gives precinct officers two-year terms and specifies that they can be removed only for death, written resignation or loss of residency. The new bylaws state that participation in party governance, including service as a precinct official, “is a privilege of association, not a right conferred by public office or candidacy. Members must act in good faith to support the Party’s purpose and must not engage in conduct materially inconsistent with the Party’s interests, including conduct that undermines its platform, policy positions, election operations, or internal governance.”
The recent changes to the party bylaws allow precinct officeholders to be suspended from voting in party matters and replaced by party leadership for noncompliance. Empty precinct seats can be filled by the Republican Party chair.
“Every Republican candidate sells their version of Republicanism to the people in a primary campaign, and the voter chooses which version to buy,” the lawsuit states. “The party cannot dictate what brands of Republicanism are on the market.”
Former MTGOP chair Jeff Essmann, a plaintiff who is also a long-serving precinct officer, said in his affidavit that members of the Republican State Central Committee weren’t given a required notification about attempts to amend the bylaws. He said he would have attended the platform convention and argued against amending the bylaws if he had known.
“The 2026 Bylaws empower any twenty members of the Party to recommend any other member of the Party for expulsion from the party, to be determined by the State Central Committee, even people who do not reside in Yellowstone County and who have never met me,” Essmann said in the affidavit.
Other central committee members produced pre-convention emails about potential changes to the bylaws, but no details about the amendments.
In issuing the order, McMahon indicated that Republicans challenging the bylaws are likely to succeed. He set a July 13 hearing on whether to make the order permanent.
“Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with Montana election law and constitutional protections governing candidacy, nomination, speech, association, due process, and elected precinct committee representatives,” McMahon ruled.
___
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing
12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing
17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing
03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing
06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing
08-16-17-22-27
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing
16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life 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.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
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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