Letter to the editor: Gillette needs to get her budget facts straight on Medicaid expansion

Heather Hart, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 11/22/26

The way Rep. Jane Gillette describes Medicaid expansion ("Government shutdown a sign of Obamacare's failure", Nov. 11) indicates that it is wasteful for people earning up to 138% of the poverty level to get healthcare. Maybe she needs to read the facts put together by the Montana Budget & Policy Center and the Montana Health Care Policy.

Looking at the breakdown of people who need access to the expanded insurance, 66% are working full-time or part-time, 13% of the enrollees are disabled and 18% are caretakers or students. Accessing insurance via work does not happen if you have 2-3 part-time jobs.

Caretakers get paid a very small amount of money to do their job, with only a few benefits that help keep people in their homes; 63% of the enrollees are in rural Montana.

Stating that Montana is losing a lot of money goes counter to what the economics are. In 2025, the Medicaid expansion put an estimated $350-560 million into Montana’s economy and created about 5,000 jobs.

Many jobs do not provide health insurance.

Taking care of those in Montana who would not have access to health-care coverage is not a waste of money. It is humanitarian.

Heather Hart

Bozeman