A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Always read the fine print. This morning, SB-405, Sen. Ed Buttrey’s (R-Great Falls) bill to expand Medicaid — and slap a de facto income tax increase on the poorest of the poor — passed 28–21 on its third reading in the MT Senate today. It now goes to Gov. Bullock, who will sign it, possibly with considerable fanfare.
Some Democratic legislators were jubilant. Among them was Sen. J.P. Pomnichowski (Bozeman), who posted this exultation on her Facebook page:
The problem with Sen. J.P.’s post? The bill won’t help 70,000+ Montanans. According to the bill’s fiscal note, it will help only 46,000:
Helping 46,000 probably is a good thing, but the price Democrats paid to provide that help is high and cruel. The bill imposes a de facto income tax increase on the poorest of the poor, sets onerous asset limits, increases copays to the legal limit, and basically acts as a voucher system for purchasing private health insurance, which means some of the benefits are diverted to the pockets of the insurers.
Democrats, at least those who believe, should be down on their knees in church begging forgiveness for supporting Buttrey’s bill. Instead, they’re cheering like giddy teenagers at a high school football game. And some, Sen. J.P. among them, aren’t even being honest about the number of low income Montanans that Buttrey’s bill will help. That needs to stop.