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While lawmakers, health advocacy groups and members of the public continue to criticize the administration of Gov. Greg Gianforte for cutting more than 133,000 people from the state Medicaid rolls over the last year, the governor and top officials in his administration have adamantly defended the state’s handling of the mass redetermination effort.
First, the governor and his appointed leader of the state health department, Charlie Brereton, argued that the nationwide mass-eligibility review — the first allowed by the federal government since the COVID-19 pandemic began — was a long-overdue opportunity to remove enrollees who no longer meet the public health insurance program’s eligibility requirements, say because a new job has increased their household income, or because they’ve moved out of state.
Last summer, the health department’s data began to show that upwards of 60% of people losing coverage were being cut from the program not because the department had affirmatively determined they had become ineligible but rather because of missing paperwork, missed response deadlines or other “procedural reasons.” Then, the Gianforte administration insisted it had done its due diligence to repeatedly contact people and notify them of the ongoing eligibility reviews.
As the 10-month eligibility period began to wind down early this year, state leadership pointed to another finding. The state’s overall Medicaid enrollment appeared to have returned to pre-pandemic levels — proof, Gianforte and his team said, that the multi-month review process had right-sized Medicare rolls that had swelled during the pandemic.
On Thursday, researchers at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University released a state-by-state assessment of how the redetermination process had unfolded across the nation. It contradicts that “right-sizing” theory, at least for one key demographic in Montana.
The report found that more than four million children nationally lost coverage since the 2023 reviews began. And in eight states, including Montana, the numbers of children enrolled near the end of the redetermination period were below pre-pandemic levels. In fact, Montana’s drop in childhood enrollment figures led the nation with a 15% reduction since February 2020 — a decrease more than twice as large as those in the next-highest states.
Put another way, at the end of last year, the state Medicaid program had 17,000 fewer kids enrolled in Medicaid than it did before the onset of the pandemic.
Asked about the report on Thursday, a spokesperson for Gianforte reiterated the administration’s claim about an overall return to pre-pandemic enrollment figures but did not specifically address the drop in childhood enrollment.
“The governor has been clear that the safety net must be intact for the most vulnerable who truly need it, including for children and families,” said spokesperson Kaitlin Price. “[The health department’s] federally required redetermination process reviewed the eligibility of program enrollees to ensure those who are ineligible are no longer on it.”
In a Thursday call with reporters about the study’s findings, executive director of the Center for Children and Families Joan Alker described the drop in childhood enrollment, and Montana’s reduction in particular, as “very troubling.”
“Primarily the [states’] governors are ultimately responsible for how millions of children are faring during this process,” Alker said, referencing the range of approaches other states took to slow redeterminations for children and reduce coverage losses for those who are still eligible. North Carolina and Kentucky, for instance, paused children’s redeterminations for 12 months to focus on other populations.
“States have many choices,” Alker said, “and these choices are reflected in the data we’re presenting today.”
READ MORE: Montana records largest drop in childhood Medicaid coverage from pre-pandemic figures, study shows.
—Mara Silvers, Reporter
Happenings 📅
The Indian Citizenship Act, the landmark law that explicitly granted American citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S., celebrates its 100th anniversary on June 2. The Montana Historical Society is holding a series of talks about the act and its implications throughout May. Among them:
- Thursday, May 9, at 6:30 p.m. University of Montana Indian Law Program Co-Director Kekek Stark will present “Tribal Sovereignty and Citizenship: One Hundred Years of the Indian Citizenship Act.” The event will be held at Helena College.
- Thursday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. Author Julie Cajune will present from her book “Our Way: A Parallel History,” which examines U.S. history through an Indigenous lens.
—Eric Dietrich, Deputy Editor
By the Numbers 🔢
Montana students reported as being homeschooled during the 2023-24 academic year, according to data released by the Office of Public Instruction on April 30. The number marks a 9.3% increase in homeschool enrollment statewide over the previous year and the second consecutive year of growth. Homeschool enrollment experienced a dramatic single-year spike of 70% — 9,868 students all told — during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total fell in 2021-22 but has remained above pre-pandemic levels.
OPI’s latest data also shows a 1.3% decrease in public K-12 enrollment statewide, with the largest decline reported among elementary school students. This tracks with widespread concern over enrollment trends among education officials in larger districts, with many saying declining enrollment is playing a role in an ongoing rash of budget shortfalls. This week’s announcement from OPI noted an enrollment drop among private schools in the state as well, with student counts falling 3.6% compared to the 2022-23 school year.
—Alex Sakariassen, Reporter
Wildlife Watch 🦬
A 40-year-old man was issued four citations following an incident on April 21 in Yellowstone National Park involving a bison, park officials reported on Monday.
Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was cited for disorderly conduct, approaching wildlife, disturbing wildlife and being under the influence of alcohol to a degree that he endangered himself after he allegedly approached a herd of bison and kicked one animal.
Yoder sustained “minor injuries” from the encounter, according to a park release. Rangers stopped Yoder and his traveling companion near West Yellowstone after other visitors reported the interaction to park officials. Rangers then transported Yoder to a nearby medical facility where he was evaluated, treated and released before continuing on to the Gallatin County Detention Center.
McKenna Bass, the Idaho Falls woman who was driving the vehicle Yoder was traveling in, also received citations, according to the park release. Bass was cited for driving under the influence, failure to yield to emergency light activation and disturbing wildlife.
Each of the violations Yoder and Bass have been charged with carries a fine of up to $5,000 and up to six months in jail.
Both Yoder and Bass pleaded not guilty to their respective charges on April 22, according to the park, which noted that the investigation is ongoing.
“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached,” the release said, adding that the safety of visitors and the park’s wildlife is dependent upon visitor compliance with park rules.
Visitors are required to stay 25 yards away from large animals and 100 yards away from wolves and bears.
This is the first reported incident of a visitor being injured by a bison this year, according to the park. The park said it received one report of an incident last year and three reports the year prior.
—Amanda Eggert, Reporter
Hot Potato 🥔
Particulars of the emissions controls installed on Montana’s largest power plant found their way into a pair of congressional hearings this week as Montana delegates grappled with what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule means for the future of Montana’s Colstrip coal plant.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, called Colstrip “the only power plant [the MATS rule] is really affecting.”
“It will take hundreds of millions of dollars to meet the standard and this is a power plant with a public depreciation date of 2042,” Tester said to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “You and I both know that there’s no way they’ll make hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in a power plant that has that depreciation date.”
Tester pressed the administrator for details on “additional flexibilities” that might extend a lifeline to the plant. ”I believe we can get there,” Regan ultimately said. “I’d love for our staff to talk.”
The prior day, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, the Republican who represents Montana’s western district, suggested that the new rule will result in costly increases to Montana utility customers.
In a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting, Zinke asked if Regan was aware that the MATS rule “targets Colstrip.”
Regan responded that he was aware that 93% of the nation’s coal plants will be compliant with the rule.
“The coal facility that you referenced is the highest emitter in the country,” Regan said, adding later in the tense exchange that the Colstrip plant has been “cheating the system” to the detriment of children’s health.
Zinke suggested the new rule would require Montana consumers to pay another $1,000 per year for electricity — a figure that Regan disputed and that Zinke’s staff later sourced to NorthWestern Energy.
—Amanda Eggert, Reporter
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
Attorney General Austin Knudsen has sued President Joe Biden’s administration again, this time over revisions to Title IX civil rights law that expand federal protections against discrimination and harassment to include sexual orientation or gender identity. Knudsen argues that the law “redefines biological sex” and will “allow men to compete in women’s sports, violate women’s privacy, and put women and girls in dangerous situations on campus.” The attorney general, a Republican seeking re-election this year, said the lawsuit is the 44th challenge his office has brought or joined against the Biden administration since Knudsen took office in 2021.
Former President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., spent his Sunday afternoon on the University of Montana campus in Missoula last week. As Mara Silvers reported, he was there to rally GOP support for the slate of candidates the party has anointed to run in this year’s elections.
The Montana Supreme Court has sided with the state in a dispute over water rights. The Schutter v. Montana Land Board case highlighted the tension between the agency that manages state trust land and the farmers and ranchers who lease it. The court’s unanimous decision in favor of the state is being closely watched by agricultural producers who say they’re wary of a government “seizure” of their private property rights.
Ballots are due this coming Tuesday, May 7, for this year’s school elections around the state. In addition to giving voters their chance to pick school board members, the ballots include mill levies and bond measures as many of the state’s largest districts look for additional taxing authority to dig themselves out of budget binds. We’ll be watching how those requests fare, given widespread concern over last year’s property tax increases.
On Our Radar 
Amanda — And now for something lighter: a video of professional ski jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi flying through the air for nearly 10 seconds as he clears the 290-meter mark on a specially constructed jump.
Alex — Competitive video gaming as a public school sport has been on the rise nationally in recent years. And, as the Flathead Beacon reported, the Montana High School Association last month officially sanctioned esports as an “emerging activity” statewide. More than a dozen Montana schools have already dabbled in the movement with unofficial state championships in the games Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. and Rocket League.
Arren — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to reclassify marijuana as a “less dangerous” drug, taking it out of the league with substances like heroin, the AP reports. It must be an election year.
JoVonne — NBC Montana reported on the University of Montana’s announcement that this spring’s graduation ceremonies will have two Blackfeet commencement speakers. Award-winning actress Lily Gladstone and tribal educator and knowledge-holder Carol Tatsey-Murray will also be awarded honorary degrees from UM.
Mara — Billings Clinic has laid off more than a dozen employees as the major health provider continues to face financial strain, the Billings Gazette reported this week. Part of the pressure comes from the hospital’s expansion into Bozeman, where patient volumes have not met expected levels.
Eric — Apropos of nothing, here’s the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s official guide to reading the Form 10-K annual reports it requires of publicly traded companies. Among other highlights: “Laws and regulations prohibit companies from making materially false or misleading statements in their 10-Ks. Likewise, companies are prohibited from omitting material information that is needed to make the disclosure not misleading.”
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