A new bill to expand Medicaid in Montana gets its first hearing in the state legislature tomorrow. Republican Ed Buttrey of Great Falls’ bill would expand the health program for the poor, elderly and disabled to an estimated 45,000 Montanans.
Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, is tentatively supporting Buttrey’s new bill. Touring a health clinic in Billings today, Bullock said he thinks there’s bi-partisan support for Medicaid expansion.
"At the end of the day I think Senator Buttrey and I and a vast - or a majority of legislators, Democrats and Republicans, recognize that we need to get this done," Bullock said.
Senator Buttrey’s bill is being heard two weeks after Bullock’s Medicaid expansion bill was killed in a House committee. Buttrey’s proposal includes provisions encouraging Medicaid recipients to work, and would deny it to people with significant assets.