Business owner backs Bullock on Medicaid expansion

Editor:

As the owner of a family of multistate businesses that employ almost 13,000 people — including 1,600 here in Montana — I am a strong supporter of the decision being made by states to accept the increased federal funding that will be available to expand Medicaid eligibility in 2014. I want to thank Gov. Bullock for including a plan to implement expanded Medicaid eligibility in his proposed budget.

In addition to providing valuable health care coverage to an estimated 60,000 uninsured Montanans, Medicaid expansion will directly benefit Montana businesses by helping to reduce and contain the costs they incur for health insurance for their employees. States that decide not to expand Medicaid — and reject the federal funds that will pay for most of it — are in essence making a choice to shift the future cost of the uncompensated health care that will be provided to those who remain uninsured to local businesses in the form of higher premiums. In addition to the impact of uncompensated care, the cost of providing employer-sponsored health insurance to employees who would have been Medicaid eligible will be shifted to their employers if Medicaid expansion is not adopted.

I strongly urge the Montana Legislature to support businesses in our state by adopting the governor's Medicaid expansion proposal. It's clearly a policy that will benefit Montana workers and the people who employ them.

William F. Woody

Owner

Consumer Direct Family of Companies