Montana’s Medicaid expansion bill gets its first hearing in the Senate Friday after passing out of the House. Democratic Governor Steve Bullock is urging lawmakers to pass what he calls an imperfect Republican bill.
Bullock told reporters this week that the legislation outlining new requirements on certain adults enrolled in the health coverage program isn’t as good an option as keeping the state's current Medicaid expansion system.
Yet, Bullock says, “I hope they’ll get this bill to my desk soon because, not just 96,000 Montanans, not just our rural communities, but also the businesses that are relying on Medicaid to provide insurance for some of their employees, expect us to get this job done."
House Democrats joined a group of Republicans to pass the so-called Medicaid Reform and Integrity Act out of that chamber last week, following significant amendments to the policy.
The Senate will take it up first thing Friday morning. An 8 a.m. hearing is set for House Bill 658 in the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee.