The likelihood that significant changes lie ahead for the joint federal-state Medicaid program has spurred discussion of whether Montana legislators should — or can — prepare for what may be coming.

In 2015, the Montana Legislature approved Montana's participation in the federal Medicaid Expansion program that provides health care coverage for low-income individuals and families.

Our local legislators are in Helena debating the future of Montana’s Medicaid program. Montana Medicaid doesn’t only provide access to essential care to the thousands of Montanans on the program, it also ensures local access to care for all residents in the communities we serve.

The decision whether to end Montana’s expanded Medicaid program is one of the top debates this legislative session.

The bill, which would renew the program as it’s currently written, got the early green light with a 29-21 vote. It now moves to the Senate Finance and Claims Committee.

Many of the attempts to repeal Medicaid expansion in states such as Idaho and Montana are coordinated by national conservative-backed groups, said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “It’s ...

The Montana Senate has voted down a bill that would have started phasing out the state’s Medicaid expansion program – a day after the House voted to send a bill renewing the program to the Senate.