Over 15,000 Montanans struggle hard every year to provide health coverage to their families. Montana has an uninsured population of more than 158,000. In such a scenario, the Affordability Act is not only important but essential as well.
Here is a glimpse at how the Affordability Act will reform the health insurance sector and the purchase of health plans in the state of Montana.
1. The eligibility criteria for Montana will be expanded. This will make 78,000 Montanans newly eligible for Medicaid.
2. Tax subsidies will be available to:
- 54000 Montanans with families that have jobs with no access to health coverage
- 18000 residents who are self -employed or have part time employment
- 27,000 small business firms in Montana when they offer health coverage to employees at work
3. There would be ban on lifetime limit and annual caps to regulate how much an individual spends on his out-of-pocket expenses. This will protect millions of residents of Montana from paying catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses even after owning health plans.
4. Children will be able to stay in their parents’ health plans till they turn 26. This will save 4340 young adults from having to pay for medical coverage when they are studying or seeking employment
5. Children below the age of 19 will not be discriminated on the basis of medical status and will be provided with health plans even when they have a pre-existing health condition.
6. Montana will have access to a high risk pool worth $15.8 million that will help adults with pre-existing conditions to access health plans at affordable rates.
7. Montana will see increased funding for the following government sponsored program:
- Existing 81 community health centers so as to increase the patient intake and to construct more such health centers in the state
- National Health Service Corps so that 23% of the Montana population is able to access affordable healthcare facilties
- Medicaid that will accommodate more people from the low-income population irrespective of gender, age, disability, family or health status.
Apart from the clauses that are universal to almost all the states, the Affordability Act has certain provisions that are specific to the state of Montana.
a) Funding of $45 million dollars over the next 9 years to help residents in Libby to recover from asbestos-related diseases
b) Increased medicare reimbursement for hospitals as Montana is a frontier state
c) Additional grants to clinics that serve residents that live in medically underserved areas of the state
d) Healthcare service providers who cater to rural or underserved communities will be helped financially
