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PNS - Friday, March 28, 2025 - JD, Usha Vance visit Greenland as Trump administration eyes territory; Maine nurses, medical workers call for improved staffing ratios; Court orders WA to rewrite CAFO dairy operation permit regulations; MS aims to expand Fresh Start Act to cut recidivism.
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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that would majorly reduce Medicaid funding for states. Two in every five Montana kids rely on Medicaid for health coverage and the state’s teachers and school staff say they’re concerned about the potential impacts. Comments by Amanda Curtis, president, Montana Federation of Public Employees.
Click on the image above for the audio. Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid over the next decade are equal to program spending for 22 million children nationwide, or 76% of children enrolled, according to KFF. (Adobe Stock)
Kathleen Shannon
March 27, 2025 - The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed a budget resolution that would reduce the federal deficit by $880 billion over the next decade. That's at the cost of Medicaid programs, and Montana K-12 students could feel the impacts. Roughly two in every five Montana kids have health insurance through Medicaid, according to a Montana Healthcare Foundation report. Others may be under the care of family members who use Medicaid benefits, such as grandparents or veterans.
Amanda Curtis, president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, says kids "hurt" when their needs aren't met.
"Teachers, counselors, nurses in Montana are incredibly concerned for our students who rely on Medicaid services to be able to show up to school and learn every day," Curtis explained.
She added that school staff are vital to student health as they often recognize when a kid needs extra help, like through speech and language pathologists, nurses or psychologists. The federal move clashes with a Montana bill to drop the sunset date for Medicaid expansion, which went to the governor's desk earlier this month.
Curtis noted that bill received bipartisan support.
"Montanans from the entire political spectrum agree that this is a program that is important to Montanans, that is good for Montanans, not just on an individual level but also for our economy," she continued."
Medicaid is partially funded by federal dollars but administered by states, which would be left with tough decisions on who to cut from the program or how to make up the difference - by raising taxes, cutting other programs. Based on Montana's Medicaid spending, the proposed federal cuts are equivalent to coverage for 57,000 kids in the state, or nearly 70% of child enrollees, according to KFF.
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PNS - Thursday, March 27, 2025 - Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.
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PNS - Thursday, March 27, 2025 - Newly released Signalgate messages include highly classified data. Americans see legal political spending as corruption. Activists say cuts to Medicaid would hurt maternity care, and cuts and changed rules at Social Security are causing customer service problems.
