Montana records largest drop in childhood Medicaid coverage from pre-pandemic figures, study shows

Montana had a 27% drop in childhood Medicaid enrollment from April to December 2023, the second highest in the nation, according to a new report that evaluates how states handled post-pandemic Medicaid eligibility throughout much of last year.

The study, authored by researchers at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, finds that childhood Medicaid enrollment dropped by more than four million nationwide during eligibility redeterminations in 2023. That figure does not include all children who lost Medicaid coverage but were later able to re-enroll, experts said Thursday.

The report shows that more than 133,000 children were covered by Montana Medicaid programs in April 2023, the month that redeterminations began. But by December, enrollment numbers had dropped to about 97,800. Montana’s 27% caseload reduction was one percentage point behind South Dakota’s, which led the nation in that metric.