Committee hears fiscal case for 3-year continuous Medicaid eligibility for children under 6

The House Appropriations Committee met to consider House Bill 185, a bill to provide three years of continuous eligibility for children under age 6 in the Healthy Montana Kids Plan, the sponsor said.

Representative Ed Staffman, House District 59 of Bozeman, told the committee the change is intended to reduce administrative churn and keep children enrolled in preventative care. “A child enrolls, stays enrolled, even if the parents shift around in jobs but without substantial income changes,” Staffman said, adding that administrative churn forces reenrollments that are costly and interrupt care.

The bill would replace the current 12‑month redetermination cycle for eligible children with a three‑year period before states require a reenrollment. Staffman and several proponents pointed to experience from other states and to studies indicating administrative and downstream savings from maintaining…