The Importance Of Medicaid
Author: Justin Tiffany, CEO - Billings Clinic Broadwater
The Importance of Medicaid
Justin Tiffany
CEO - Billings Clinic Broadwater
Many of you may have heard that the Montana Legislature is currently debating the future of Montana’s Medicaid program. I would like to offer my perspective on this issue and emphasize why continuing the program as it is today is vitally important to preserving access to healthcare in a rural place like Broadwater County.
Montana Medicaid, including expanded coverage for low-income working Montanans that was first authorized by the Montana Legislature in 2015, preserves access to healthcare here. It is a financial lifeline for Billings Clinic Broadwater, where 5.1% of revenues come from Medicaid expansion alone. This doesn’t just impact that 297 adults of Broadwater County currently covered by the program, it impacts the 8,032 Montana residents of Broadwater County who expect a hospital to be there when they need it.
No rural hospitals in Montana have closed since this program has passed. In fact, many hospitals have been able to expand services to address the state’s most pressing needs, like mental health. Before the program was passed in 2015, rural hospitals were typically running in the red – up to a 10% negative margin, on average. This was driven by high levels of uncompensated care from treating uninsured people. Some were facing significant reductions in services and providers, and a few were on the brink of closure.
But, after the program was put in place, rural hospitals have reduced uncompensated care levels by 42%. And 93% of rural hospitals have been able to add services, with most (87%) expanding behavioral health services. At Billing Clinic Broadwater, we have been able to expand our primary care clinic, provide specialty services like pediatrics, pediatric endocrinology and urology. We also have been able to offer telepsychiatry services and integrated behavioral health and continue to look at areas to grow our services.
This program isn’t a handout. It helps move people out of poverty and onto the road to success. A few important statistics support this. According to a recent Montana Department of Labor and Industry report, 72% of program participants are working. Participants’ utilization of services decreased while on the program. The average length of stay on the program is less than 24 months. It’s also good for families. There’s a direct correlation in the health outcomes for kids whose parents also have health coverage. When parents get healthcare, so do their kids.
Keeping Montana’s Medicaid program as-is today is also good for business in our local community. Keeping more people covered enhances the pool of healthy, productive workers for roughly 32% of businesses in Broadwater County that employ people covered by Medicaid.
Across Montana, Medicaid covers more than 30% of people working as housekeepers, personal care aides, and food service workers; and more than 20% of waiters and waitresses, nursing assistants, and childcare workers. This protects the workforce for top employment industries in Broadwater County, including Accommodation and Food Services, Retail Trade and Manufacturing.
Expanded coverage under Medicaid is also a major source of economic activity in my district. In Broadwater County, the program annually creates or supports 7 jobs, $365,000 in personal income, and $1.2 million in local economic activity.
I hope this helps showcase how important continuing Montana’s Medicaid program is to all of us here in Broadwater County. By supporting Medicaid, we are supporting our community’s health, well-being and economy.
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PhotoCredit: Justin Tiffany
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