HELENA — More than 38,000 previously uninsured Montanans have enrolled for health coverage from the state’s Medicaid expansion program.
State officials told a legislative oversight committee that the pace of enrollment is far exceeding expectations, and they are especially encouraged by the number of young adults who have enrolled. Nearly half of enrollees thus far are between the ages of 19 and 34.
The state Department of Public Health and Human Services had expected about 23,000 to be enrolled by this time. Instead, more than half of the 70,000 Montana residents eligible for the program, known as the HELP Act, now have health insurance.
Medicaid expansion was hotly debated during the last legislative session and won passage only after Democrats and Republicans hammered out a compromise that included a workforce component.