A new report says Montana could save money on Medicaid by providing housing and support services to homeless people.
The 2019 Montana Medicaid Supportive Housing Services Crosswalk was released Tuesday, along with a report from The Montana Department of Health and Human Services,which found that using Medicaid for supportive housing saves money for the state and federal government.
The Montana Healthcare Foundation, the state health department, and other partners commissioned the reports from the Corporation for Supportive Housing.
Sheila Hogan, director of the state health department, said they wanted to know how effectively they’re meeting the needs for people using state Medicaid who are also identified as homeless.
“How do we wrap that Medicaid expansion payer source so that people can get treatment and that they can have adequate housing and so that we can ensure their treatment is successful?” she says.
The study found that providing housing and added services to vulnerable populations, like the elderly and people with intellectual disabilities, could cut down on costs to the state and federal government by about 45 percent.
Copyright 2019 Yellowstone Public Radio
