Lawmakers Disagree on Medicaid but Agree on No Montana Money for the Wall
The Hi-Line delegation to the Montana legislature has started the 2019 session agreeing on some issues and respectfully disagreeing on others.
The lawmakers spoke via closed-circuit television from Helena to a Havre Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored conference at Northern Montana Hospital.
The lawmakers differed somewhat on the proposed continuation of Medicaid expansion in the state.
About 100,000 Montanans are receiving health care benefits under the program, but it is scheduled to expire July 1.
Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, said he supported extension of the present law with no amendments and no sunset clause. He said 67 percent of the people receiving the benefits are already employed and most of the remaining people are either disabled or caregivers to other people. Creating a work requirement would create a problem for the state and would be costly to enforce, Bachmeier reasoned.
The program as it is run now has been very successful, he said, and has provided lots of people with the health care they deserve.
State Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, who represents most of Hill County, said he supports extension of the Medicaid Expansion law but favors amendments that would require recipients to seek employment if they don’t already have jobs.
Tempel also supported the concept of drug testing of applicants and wondered if people using drugs ought to be receiving benefits.
The bill should expire in a certain number of years so lawmakers can review the success of the program. Tempel said he thinks he would vote against the bill Bachmeier supports.
While there was disagreement on Medicaid Expansion, they agreed that no Montana money should be spent on helping President Donald Trump pay for his controversial wall on the border with Mexico.
Senate President Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, has proposed spending $8 million to help build the wall.
Bachmeier said that he wasn’t sure how serious Sales was with the idea, but he opposed the idea. He said the $8 million would pay for 13,000 people on Medicaid expansion, which would be a better way to spend the money.
Rep. Joshua Kassmeier, R-Fort Benton, and Tempel said they believed the money could be better spent on other projects and the proposed wall was a federal undertaking.
“We have a big enough border to the north of us,” Kassmeier said,
“Yes, 600 miles of it,” added Tempel, referring to the Montana border with Canada.
On other topics:
Raw Milk
A controversial bill allowing sale of raw milk was defeated in the last legislative session. Supporters said there were health benefits from drinking unpasteurized milk, but opponents feared that raw milk can carry disease-causing bacteria.
Bachmeier said a compromise bill will be introduced allowing farmers to provide raw milk to friends but requiring that tests be conducted before sale to the general public.
The Havre Democrat said he was conflicted about the last session’s proposal, seeing both sides of the issue, though he ended up voting no.
But he said he might be willing to vote for the compromise this year.
Hill County Heath Department Director Kim Larson also said she would look at the compromise bill.
Sessions On Friday From Now On
The Chamber has sponsored the legislative sessions at noon Thursday for several sessions now. State Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, has been unable to attend because the Legislature’s caucus of Native lawmakers meets with Gov. Steve Bullock at that time.
Jody Olson, executive director of the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, said that beginning next week, the sessions will be at noon on Fridays for the remainder of the session, which usually lasts through April.
Anyone interested will be able to talk to Hi-Line lawmakers through closed-circuit television.