A mixed bag of news in Montana

Last month, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced it will ask the federal government for permission to implement Medicaid work reporting requirements. Although Montana law supports the use of work requirements in Medicaid, the announcement came as a bit of a surprise since the federal government won’t start requiring them until 2027.

Work reporting requirements don’t encourage work; however, they do make it difficult for people to stay enrolled in Medicaid due to the added paperwork requirements. We will be are monitoring the process and let you know when there are updates.

In better news, we are watching the implementation of two of our legislative successes.

• The first is the inclusion of electronic cigarettes in the Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA). Our team is working with partners to plan events in Helena and around the state to celebrate the CIAA. This will help ensure the public knows about the progress we’ve recently made and the work that is still ahead.
• The second is House Bill (HB) 869, which requires Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs) in schools. The Office of Public Instruction has already launched the grant program allowing schools to buy AEDs, a requirement of HB 869.