Health care workers, policy makers and advocates chanted between speakers in the Capitol rotunda. Democratic House Rep. Mary Caferro of Helena summed up the sentiment.
“The governor’s rush to implement a system before they are ready will take away health care coverage from people who are eligible for Medicaid, who are playing by all the rules,” Caferro told the crowd.
The state is implementing work requirements six months before the federal deadline to do so. State health officials say they won’t kick anyone off Medicaid for noncompliance until October. But some computer systems that would automatically check whether enrollees qualified for exemptions might not be running until next year.
Policy watchers and think tanks estimate that over 30,000 Montanans could lose Medicaid coverage. They say most would still qualify for the program but would lose coverage because they’re unable to keep up with the new paperwork.
Heather Reel and her son both have autism and rely on Medicaid for health care. Reel is scared that people who don’t have a documented disability won’t be able to get on Medicaid in the first place.
“Someone who’s disabled can’t meet the work requirements, so it’s important that they have that Medicaid so they can get proof of disability,” she says.
Reel is working, but she worries about keeping up with the new reporting requirements and potentially losing her coverage.
