As parties feud, key figure calls for improvements to Montana’s Medicaid program

By   /  April 12, 2013  /  Montana  /  1 Comment

GRAHAM: The feds are impoverishing Montana.

 
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
 
As a legislative coalition key to expanding Montana’s Medicaid program crumbles to the Capitol floor, a key player is pushing lawmakers to pursue aggressive reform of the health program.
Carl Graham, president of the Montana Policy Institute, wants lawmakers to remake the program rather than swelling its ranks as allowed under the [...]

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MT: After billions in tax hikes, Tester calls for even more revenue for D.C.

By   /  January 15, 2013  /  Montana, News  /  3 Comments

ALL SMILES: Jon Tester says he wants a balanced approach to deficit, but he's supported billions in recent tax hikes with few spending reductions.

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA — Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester just can’t get enough — money for the ever-growing government, that is.
Most of the Montana media focused on Tester’s call for bipartisanship in his address to state lawmakers gathered in a joint session Monday, but another element received little play: the senator’s push for [...]

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MT: Baucus won’t address gifts to staffers-turned-lobbyists

By   /  January 14, 2013  /  Featured, Montana, News  /  No Comments

BAUCUS BULL: The Senate Finance Committee chair won't talk about gift-wrapping tax breaks for clients of former staffers.

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA – U.S. Sen. Max Baucus told Montana state lawmakers last week that he clings true to a particular aphorism: When you hold certain advantages, you must utilize them.
It’s an idiom certainly not lost on ex-Baucus staffers whose lobbying clients profited greatly from a tax package the Montana senator created.
Montana’s senior [...]

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MT: Feds may soon yank subsidized air service to Lewistown

By   /  January 10, 2013  /  Featured, Montana, News  /  1 Comment

GOVERNMENT PAPER FOR SILVER: Silver Airways receives millions in government subsidies annually.

Low ridership numbers on a federally subsidized air route means that one rural Montana town could soon lose commercial air service.

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MT: Bullock seeks Medicaid expansion, but ‘Woodwork Effect’ could hurt state budget

By   /  January 8, 2013  /  Montana, News  /  No Comments

LET'S GROW: Bullock wants to add 60,000 Montana's to the state's Medicaid program.

Newly sworn-in Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock says he wants to expand Montana’s Medicaid program, but his ambition might leave the state with a time bomb ticking deep inside the biennial budget.

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