Protesters gathered outside Community Medical Center in Missoula to warn that federal Medicaid changes and state budget pressures could deepen financial strain on Montana hospitals.
The hospital plans to replace in-person physician visits in its pediatric intensive care unit with telehealth care in October. Rally organizers linked that change to broader cost-cutting across rural and urban health systems.
Jon Bauman, president of the Social Security Works Political Action Committee, said the largest effects of federal Medicaid reductions will begin in 2027. States must implement new Medicaid work requirements by Jan. 1 of that year under a Republican budget law approved in 2025.
Montana has also withheld a planned 3% Medicaid payment increase for health care providers because of a budget shortfall. The increase had been scheduled to begin July 1.
Bauman, formerly a member of the band Sha Na Na, urged voters to support candidates who want to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Democratic congressional candidate Sam Forstag also attended the Aug. 21 rally.
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