skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, February 10, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Vance questions authority of US judges to challenge Trump; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on higher wages, health care, retirement; Report highlights how Georgia can unlock rural infrastructure, broadband; Leftover fish parts could help keep industrial fishing waste low.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The head of the new White House Faith Office draws scrutiny, Trump moves to fire the Federal Elections Commission chair, and a North Carolina judge won't toss tens of thousands of ballots in a state Supreme Court race.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Groups rally at MT Capitol to maintain Medicaid expansion

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 14, 2025   

A coalition of Montana groups will rally at the Capitol Wednesday to advocate for the protection of Medicaid expansion, which legislators will debate this session before the program's scheduled expiration in June.

The state's 10-year-old Medicaid expansion program covers 75,000 low-income Montanans at an annual cost of about $1 billion, according to KFF Health News. The state picks up about 10% of the tab.

Kristen Stewart of Billings is a caregiver for her 90-year-old grandmother, and enrolled in Medicaid herself. As an organizer with the advocacy group Big Sky 55+, she noted many Medicaid enrollees work but the work is often undervalued.

"Medicaid supports a lot of people who are doing unpaid work," Stewart pointed out. "Things that were we to monetize, you would see an economic boost from their production level, often more than the cost of their care."

The Gianforte administration already tightened eligibility for the program, cutting the number of enrollees by nearly 40% between May 2023 and October 2024. The program currently covers nondisabled adults ages 19 to 64 who make less than $21,000 a year.

Jeannie Brown, a bus driver for the Belgrade Public School District and a full-time caregiver and legal guardian for her teenage granddaughter, said if Medicaid expansion does not get reauthorized, she will be on a "slippery slope."

"Because I'm 60 years old and I'm having my own health issues after being a caregiver, it's hard work and it takes a toll on you physically, financially and emotionally," Brown explained. "I'm hoping these legislators really take all of these things into consideration and reauthorize it."

Any laws passed on the issue could also affect the state's behavioral health services, which Gov. Greg Gianforte has made a priority.

Disclosure: Big Sky 55+ contributes to our fund for reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Salmonella, campylobacter, listeria and E. coli are among the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illnesses resulting in hospitalizations and death. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Foodborne illnesses from meat and poultry products kill thousands of people a year and a new report from the Government Accountability Office offers w…


Environment

play sound

About 20% of fish caught in the wild are not used to feed people across the world but a recent study found the unused portions of fish prepared for th…

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborat…


Social Issues

play sound

The United Auto Workers union is negotiating its first union contract with Volkswagen at its Chattanooga plant, covering more than 4,000 members…

As of last October, 775,000 Washington state students have access to school meals. (New Africa/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Legislation in Olympia would make school meals free for every student. Senate Bill 5352 would ensure every student has access to free breakfast and …

Environment

play sound

By Grey Moran for Sentient.Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Mississippi News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Social Issues

play sound

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services are working together to find homes for foster-care childre…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021