Health
Montana ends resident disability Medicaid after Social Security payments stop
Montana terminated a resident's low-cost disability Medicaid coverage without requesting treating physician records, NPR reports.
The short version
- Montana's health department ruled 19-year-old Taya Hailstone ineligible for low-cost disability Medicaid after she stopped receiving Social Security disability benefits.[NPR]
- State authorities issued the coverage decision without first requesting medical records from her treating physicians, while the health department declined to discuss individual cases.[NPR]
- The decision comes as Montana and Nebraska implement Medicaid work requirements, which 25 states are currently challenging in court.[NPR]
- The Congressional Budget Office projects that federal work rules will prompt more than 5 million people to lose Medicaid coverage by 2034.[NPR]
Key facts
- Montana's health department determined that Taya Hailstone was no longer eligible for low-cost Medicaid disability coverage after she stopped receiving Social Security disability payments.[NPR]
- The state made the coverage determination without requesting records from Hailstone's treating medical team.[NPR]
- A spokesperson for Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services stated the agency does not comment on individual Medicaid cases.[NPR]
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 18.5 million people will need to meet federal requirements to maintain Medicaid, with over 5 million projected to lose coverage by 2034.[NPR]
- Twenty-five states filed a lawsuit in June against the Trump administration challenging federal medical frailty rules.[NPR]
- Nebraska began checking work requirements in May, and Montana began doing so in July.[NPR]
What remains uncertain
- The outcome of the lawsuit filed by 25 states challenging the federal medical frailty standards remains unresolved.[NPR]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.