The Montana Primary Care Association is launching a program to help people who lost Medicaid during the state’s evaluation process reapply.
The Montana Primary Care Association will train public service providers like food banks to help the roughly 130,000 Montanans that lost Medicaid during the last year.
The state recently finished evaluating the eligibility of everyone on its Medicaid rolls. That process was on hold during the pandemic.
Olivia Riutta with the Primary Care Association said the process of reapplying can be confusing and there are many people who are still eligible or lost coverage for procedural reasons.
“We are working to increase the capacity across the state so that people who have lost Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids can reapply for coverage as quickly as possible,” Riutta said.
Riutta is encouraging organizations that can’t directly help people re-apply to refer them to the Primary Care Association's Cover Montana program. That program provides remote and in-person help to people applying for Medicaid or buying insurance on the federal marketplace.
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State health officials told lawmakers this week they will likely need more funding to implement Medicaid work requirements. -
Planned Parenthood clinics in Montana are no longer able to bill Medicaid for any services. Federal appeals court last week overturned a previous ruling that blocked the policy from taking effect. -
State health officials are asking the federal government for permission to implement Medicaid work requirements early. Experts worry many people won’t be able to keep up with the additional paperwork, even if they are working. KFF, a non-partisan health policy group, estimates 34,000 Montanans could lose coverage. -
Montana’s Medicaid office is struggling to process applications in a timely manner. The state is planning to fast track new work requirements and eligibility checks – which would mean even more paperwork for applicants and state officials. -
Montanans who need help shopping for health insurance or enrolling in Medicaid may soon be on their own. The Trump administration is cutting federal funding for a service that helped people get insured.
