Medicaid expansion enrollment in Montana tops 93K people

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — About one in every seven working-age adults in Montana is now enrolled in the state’s Medicaid expansion program.

State health department officials said Thursday that 93,950 people between the ages of 18 and 64 are beneficiaries of the program that offers Medicaid services to the working poor.

A new report by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research says the program has boosted the state economy.

Study author Bryce Ward said the $350 million to $400 million in new health care spending generated by the expansion program is bigger than Montana’s beverage manufacturing industry.

Montana is one of 32 states that expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The program expires next year unless state lawmakers decide to renew it.