Letters to the Editor - Protect the well-being of Montanans

Editor,

Montana has a history of providing our families access to quality health care.

Through responsible policy decisions and solution-oriented problem solving, our leaders have found opportunities to ensure that people in all 56 counties have the opportunity to access health care from the care teams who know them and their families best. Efforts around the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, have decreased the uninsured rate in Montana by 10 percent.

Now, we’re facing a dangerous time where Washington, D.C., is working hard to undo the great things for health care Montana has done, including protections in the ACA and Montana’s Medicaid.

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the DOJ’s refusal to protect the laws of the United States, and the administration’s commitment to stripping people of health care are all telling signs. Special interests in D.C. are working hard to make sure we lose the protections of the Affordable Care Act and put hundreds of thousands of Montanans at risk of losing health insurance and facing life-threatening illnesses without our support.

If we fail to protect the ACA, 425,900 Montanans will pre-existing conditions will be in danger of losing health insurance overnight. Those people are our friends and neighbors. They are people who are getting help with expensive prescriptions, mental health care and preventative services like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception and mammograms.

We owe it to ourselves and our state to urge our leaders to protect the health and well-being of Montanans and stand against attacks on the laws that help us all.

Roni Griffith

Great Falls