HELENA — The number of medically uninsured in Montana has dropped from 15 percent to 7.4 percent over the past year, continuing the dramatic decline over recent years.
Officials credited the state’s Medicaid expansion, as well as stronger enrollment in the federal Affordable Care Act.
Jessica Rhodes, the policy director for the state health department, said the numbers are “important because Montanans are getting the health care they need.”
In 2013, a fifth of the state’s residents had no health insurance, she said.
A report released by state Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen says about 957,000 Montanans have health coverage, leaving about 76,000 uninsured.
Nationally, about 9 percent of all Americans do not have health insurance, despite Medicaid expansion in many states and the Affordable Care Act.