New report shows huge economic impact of expansion for Montana

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Gov. Steve Bullock highlighted how critical Medicaid expansion is for Montana businesses and their employees when he visited Bozeman Tuesday.

Bullock met with Bozeman economic development and business leaders at Bozeman City Hall to present a report on Montana Medicaid expansion.

He said the report, using data from 2019, shows how Medicaid expansion is good for business, workers and Montana’s economy.

According to the report:

  • 59% of businesses had workers enrolled in Medicaid in 2018 and 2019.
  • If employers had privately insured all workers enrolled in Medicaid in 2019, the cost would have been between $432 million and $1.1 billion in 2019.
  • Roughly 7 out of 10 those eligible for Medicaid expansion are working.
  • Employers would have paid roughly between $5,690 and $15,334 per employee for private employer- based insurance coverage.

Read the full report here.