Since the passage of the Montana Medicaid program during the 2015 Legislative Session, the program has proved to be beneficial to both participants and to the Montana economy, according to new research by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, the Montana Department of Revenue and Department of Labor and Industry.
A new study suggests the Medicaid expansion program adds roughly 5,000 jobs and $270 million in personal income to the Montana economy annually, with economic benefits that exceed the cost paid by the state for the program. The study suggests that additional economic benefits may also occur from lower crime, fewer bankruptcies, and better health outcomes.
The report concludes that the legislation has increased labor force participation by 6 to 9 percent among low-income Montanans, a significant and critical increase needed during the current tight labor market, its authors state.
Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is touting the research as he pushes for the continuation of Medicaid expansion, a measure that has taken center state as the Montana Legislature debates its future.
Among the key points the governor is emphasizing is the number of businesses in the state that have employees enrolled in the program.
Here are some of the key findings:
• Nearly 18,000 businesses employed a worker who was enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• 57 percent of Montana businesses in 2017 had workers enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• In Flathead County, 60.5 percent of businesses employ workers enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• Over half of these businesses had between 11 percent and 50 percent of their workforce covered by the program. About 2,100 businesses had over 50 percent of their employees enrolled in the program.
• Roughly seven out of 10 members of the Montana Medicaid population are working, and eight out of 10 are in working families. Among those not working, over one in three are ill or disabled. The remainder reported caring for family or working out of the home, in school, or had another reason.
• Roughly 16 percent of Montana’s private sector workforce had health insurance provided by Montana Medicaid.
• Eighty-four percent of Montana private sector workers had at least one co-worker enrolled in Montana Medicaid in 2017.
• Firms that employ workers enrolled in Montana Medicaid are in every county, in every industry, and can be small or large.
• In every county, at least 30 percent of private businesses employed Montana Medicaid participants.
• Ninety-eight percent of Montana businesses with more than 50 employees had at least one employee enrolled in the program. However, most businesses employing Montana Medicaid clients were small businesses.
• Nearly 90 percent of employers in the accommodations and food service sector have employees enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• Over half of construction firms had employees enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• Sixty-seven percent of retail businesses, including gas stations, had at least one employee enrolled in Montana Medicaid.
• Employers benefit from Montana Medicaid through the cost avoidance of not paying for private health insurance, by avoiding tax penalties, and by having healthier employees entering the employer’s insurance pool.
• If employers had privately insured all workers enrolled in Montana Medicaid in 2017, the cost would have been $353.6 million to $941.2 million.
• Without Montana Medicaid, Montana employers would be subject to tax penalties estimated to be $11.1 million to $16.7 million.
• Businesses with workers covered by Montana Medicaid paid corporate taxes of $630 per employee compared to $1,380 per employee for businesses without workers on Montana Medicaid.
• Employers would have paid roughly $5,600 per employee for private employer-based insurance coverage.
• Overall, corporate income taxes fund less than 0.5 percent of the costs of Montana Medicaid.