Medicaid

Federal officials found that one quarter of Medicaid enrollees nationwide diagnosed with HIV didn't receive crucial treatment. That rate was much worse for Montanans on Medicaid.

The number of Montanans who lost Medicaid coverage increased again in June. State and federal officials filed an agreement Tuesday with the Atlantic Richfield Company to pay for a cleanup of a former copper refinery in Great Falls.

Thousands are losing Medicaid coverage as the state redetermines Montanans’ eligibility. Federal officials say the state is trying to move through the process too fast, leading to procedural errors and confusion among enrollees.

The federal agency that oversees Medicaid said it’s concerned with Montana’s ability to provide customers help over the phone due to long wait times and a high rate of dropped calls.

Montanans seeking help over the phone with Medicaid enrollment are waiting on hold longer than residents of almost any other state. That’s according to July data from the federal agency that oversees the program.

Some Medicaid provider rates are rising as a result of policy passed this year. The question is, will that be enough to make a meaningful difference, or will it simply maintain the status quo?

A state commission will spend the next year working to overhaul Montana’s behavioral health and disability services system.

More than 15,000 Montanans lost Medicaid coverage in April and that number will continue to grow as the state continues to reevaluate program eligibility.

Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed into law a budget outlining $14 billion in spending over the next two years, and a bill that will increase access to child care.

Nearly 8,000 Montanans may soon find themselves without health insurance because many who went through the first round of Medicaid redetermination haven’t submitted the necessary paperwork.