GOP-Held Senate Approves Medicaid Expansion on Initial Vote

A Republican-sponsored bill to continue Medicaid expansion cleared a key vote in the Montana Senate on Thursday, February 20.

House Bill 245, sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, passed an initial vote by a 29-21 margin. The bipartisan coalition supporting the bill was nearly identical to the group of 18 Democrats and nine Republicans who have recently succeeded in undermining Senate GOP leadership.

Supporters of the bill said Thursday that the program had become a lifeline for people who don't have health care coverage through their employer or the federal marketplace, with some lawma...