Candidates talk about health care

Legislative candidates from the Flathead Valley met in Kalispell on Tuesday night to talk about what role they believe the Legislature and state funding should play in health-care services.

An audience of a few dozen people gathered at Flathead Valley Community College to watch Health Votes Montana 2016, a nonpartisan forum hosted by a collaboration of health-care advocates.

Nine state House candidates and three state Senate candidates attended. While each candidate talked about the importance of quality medical care in Montana, opinions varied on how large a role government should play to create that care and how to pay for it.

“We already know that, fiscally, our ending-fund balance projections have shrunk dramatically,” said incumbent Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell.

According to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Montana’s gross domestic product declined by about 1 percent in the final quarter of 2015 and in the first three months of 2016.

“There are likely going to be somewhere around 1,200 actual bills introduced in the session. We’re going to be faced with some tough decisions and the budget’s going to be a big deal,” Garner said.

Forum topics ranged from how candidates would support tobacco-use prevention to teens risking melanoma in tanning beds. The night largely focused on access to affordable, quality health care — especially for the state’s aging population.

The candidates were asked their opinions on four bills emerging from the Children and Family Health and Human Services Interim Committee. Those bills would expanding Medicaid services delivered to people in their home or assisted living, create a volunteer corps of respite workers trained to care for Alzheimer’s patients, and provide resources to local aging services.

Ronalee Skees with Immanuel Lutheran Communities said she hoped the legislators would create laws that support the aging people she sees in assisted living.

“Montana is going to face, not just a ‘silver tsunami,’ Montana is a facing a crisis in health care,” Skees said.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this year 28,000 Montanans will face dementia this year.

“So as you’re looking at this session, think about the fact that by year 2050, we’re going to see the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease triple,” Skees said.

State Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, who is running for state Senate District 3, stood by his critical opinion of expanding Medicaid.

“Let’s take Medicaid that’s already there and direct it to the Alzheimer’s,” he said. “And those who are on Medicaid, the able-bodied people, let’s get them a job and get them where they are working and providing for themselves.”

He said he would be hesitant to agree to a volunteer corps or provide resources to local aging services without an outline of program details and of the fiscal impact on Montana’s budget.

“What we need to do is make sure we’re empowering family, friends, church and civic groups to help people who have these needs,” Regier said.

Regier’s opponent, Democrat Melissa Hartman of Whitefish, said before expanding Medicaid, she would look for other areas to secure the money, such as finding savings in criminal justice reforms.

“My guess is as much as we don’t want to raise tax … and want to keep the budget the way it is, inevitably if we have an aging population, we need to find the resources to deal with this issue,” she said.

Hartman said she agreed there is money to be saved within the Medicaid program. But she said it was a step further than getting people jobs — she stressed people needed good-paying jobs to afford health care.

State Rep. Albert Olszewski, a Republican running for Senate District 6, said Montana has to be proactive in creating health-care laws. Olszewski has pushed for repealing the Affordable Care Act.

An orthopedic surgeon and member of the interim committee proposing the four bills, Olszewski said he would be a cheerleader for them. He said a tightening budget means there need to be advocates for people and families affected by dementia.

“I’m going to be honest with you, [these bills are] going to cost millions of dollars — millions,” Olszewski said. “So we do have to prioritize ... and what’s going to happen is we’re going to clash with people who want to build 100 more government buildings and call it ‘infrastructure.’”

Garner said he respects the work of the committees, but whether he votes in favor of the bills depends on what else appears in the legislative session.

“I’m just trying to make sure that people understand that these are going to be four of probably 1,200 [bills] for us to consider,” he said.

After the Nov. 8 general election, the 65th Legislative Session is scheduled to start Jan. 2.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.