Daily Montanan | June 30, 2026
Changes to Medicaid rules and the cancellation of a planned healthcare provider reimbursement increase have led to concern among both providers and patients as Montana faces a deficit in the human services division.
After voting to increase Medicaid spending last session, the state is having to draw back on a planned 3% provider rate increase.
Large-scale federal changes are also affecting Montanans. Last year, Congress pushed through — and President Donald Trump signed — a reconciliation bill, known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” That bill implemented new work requirements for accessing Medicaid, which all states will implement by the end of the year.
There’s also a list of exceptions to who has to complete the work requirement.
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But the changes are already impacting some across the state, including Celeste Thompson, a caregiver with SEIU 775.
Thompson said Trump’s bill ended up with her having to go off of Medicaid because of the work requirements. Her husband receives disability assistance and the work requirements for Medicaid are 20 hours per week and 80 over a month.
However, a spouse’s income is factored into standard disability payments, meaning if she worked more her husband could lose the disability assistance.
“We need his disability to make ends meet,” Thompson said.
She’s been a caregiver for nearly 25 years between two different companies, Thompson said this week, adding she’s trying to get back on Medicaid, but is unsure when that will happen.
“With all this going on, state and federal, it’s frustrating, it’s frustrating all over, and I’m frustrated about it,” Thompson said. “We need to try to elect the leaders that are going to work with us instead of against us.”
Read the article at the Daily Montanan.