When the speaker of the House doesn’t speak for Montana

Last month, the Montana Chamber of Commerce endorsed a plan to use private insurers to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The Chamber of Commerce! They want to privatize the orphanages and sell naming rights to Yellowstone Park, and even they think we should accept federal funds to provide health insurance to 70,000 Montanans.

In this position, the chamber joins Gov. Steve Bullock, the AARP, the Montana Nurses Association and 70 percent of respondents to a November poll. We do not exaggerate consensus to say that most Montanans want to expand Medicaid coverage to households with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level.

One Montanan who does not is House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson. When the Missoulian asked him how Medicaid expansion fit into the 2015 House agenda, he described it as "a tough sell for the caucus and a tough sell for me personally."

"Able-bodied people should be able to go out and get a job," Knudsen said.

By Dan Brooks

Full Story: http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/sickening-stance/Content?oid=2110942