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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Nearly 130,000 Montanans lost Medicaid coverage during recent eligibility reviews. People who are homeless are more likely to have chronic health issues and particularly vulnerable to losing coverage. -
About two-thirds of those who were kicked off state Medicaid rolls lost it for technical reasons like incorrectly filling out paperwork. That’s one of the highest procedural disenrollment rates nationwide, according to an analysis. -
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra recently spoke with Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton to talk about Montanans losing Medicaid and mental health services. -
Montana's chaotic Medicaid redetermination process closes. Federal environmental officials are proposing Arctic grayling conservation plan. Cattle numbers in Montana decline to 12-year low. -
Montana saw a record number of residents sign up for health care plans through the federal marketplace. -
Medicaid expansion will be on the table for Montana lawmakers to consider during the next legislative session. Officials are studying the policy’s impact ahead of that debate.
