Montana Weighs Expanding Medicaid Rolls

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers are trying to decide whether it’s worth spending up to $119 million to expand the state’s Medicaid program to include as many as 57,000 more people now that a U.S. Supreme Court decision has given them the option.

The high court upheld most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in June, but it also gave states the choice of saying no to a 2014 Medicaid expansion meant to cover about 16 million additional people.

See also: Q&A: 10 Things You Need to Know About the PPACA Ruling

A decision by Montana legislators, who don’t meet in full session until January, won’t be easy because of the unanswered questions left by the high court’s ruling, a panel of experts told an interim committee of lawmakers on Monday.

The four consultants, who are guiding several states through their options in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, advised committee members to conduct a thorough study to find out how much an expansion would cost the state.

They also told the lawmakers to think about whether there are enough doctors to handle the influx of new patients and whether people would drop their private insurance to join the Medicaid rolls.

They encouraged the lawmakers to use the expansion as an entry point to negotiate with the federalgovernment for more control over its program and spending. But they warned not to expect much guidance from the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare anytime soon.

“A lot of these things won’t be clear until after election,” said Jim Hardy of Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Lawmakers heard an analysis by Gregg Davis of the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, who estimated between 47,000 and 55,000 more people would be eligible if Montana expanded its Medicaid program.