montanarightnow.com · John Riley NonStop Local Reporter · September 7, 2026
Montana employees see large increase to health care costs | Helena News | montanarightnow.com
# Montana employees see large increase to health care costs
- John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
#### John Riley
- Author email (john.riley@nonstoplocal.com) - Sep 7, 2026 - Sep 7, 2026 Updated 43 mins ago
Health care increases for MT workers
HELENA, Montana — State employees and retirees will see a substantial increase in what they will pay out of pocket for their health coverage, with deductibles tripling in the coming year. The state says the increase is needed to keep the program afloat. State workers Nonstop Local spoke with say they felt "blindsided" by the sudden increase.
“I think it's alarming,” said Chelsea Hanford, a child protection investigator with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. ”I think that with the increase in just basic everyday necessities and bills, it's going to be very hard for our families to make it.”
Increases to state employee health care John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
At the end of last month, the Montana Department of Administration sent a memo to employees and retirees detailing the changes to the plan beginning January 1, 2027. Deductibles will triple for the medical plan from $1,000 to $3,000. The out-of-pocket maximum will also increase, rising from $4,000 to $8,000 for single individual coverage and $8,000 to $16,000 for family coverage.
Hanford has been with the state for a decade. As a single mother, she depends on state benefits to support her family. She worries about what this will mean for her family’s budget and others in similar situations.
“I work with a lot of single parents and they are worried about how this is going to affect their households,” she noted. “Some have panicked already and started looking for other jobs that may have better benefits.”
State employees will also see an increase to their monthly copay; single payers will see their monthly copay double from $60 to $120, and families' copay will increase by $100.
John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
“I cried,” said Tia Goetsch, recalling when she found out. “I am chronically ill, and I work in a rural area, and I don't have anybody else on my insurance. Doubling what I put into it and tripling my deductible means I'm going to have to make some serious decisions about my health care.”
Goetsch is a case manager at Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown.
“I do love working and the population that I serve; I do love them. I was born in Montana, and so that's one of the things that I do take honor in, in fighting and working for the people of Montana. But this is definitely devastating,” she explained.
The State says if nothing is done, there is a real risk that the plan could collapse.
“If we were not financially solvent, there would be the risk that there were claims incurred by members that wouldn't be able to be honored and paid,” explained Amy Jenks, the administrator for the Health Care and Benefits Division with the Montana Department of Administration.
John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
Montana’s health benefit plan is self-funded, meaning it’s paid for by money allocated by the Legislature and state employee contributions. During the most recent collective bargaining with the state worker unions, the agreement included a provision allowing the state to increase plan member contributions if funds were depleting too quickly.
Jenks says the state looked at alternatives, but believes this was the most feasible option. She also noted they’ve seen a significant increase in health care claims and associated costs. Specifically, the costs for prescriptions have increased and more claims have been filed for GLP-1 medication. The state also reports seeing several claims last year that totaled over $1 million for each claimant.
“The health plan hasn't had a plan funding increase or benefit design changes for the last ten years,” Jenks noted. “We've been able to use our reserves to fund the plan throughout that last ten-year period. In 2026, we did have a slight increase, but health care trends across the nation have increased dramatically year over year since 2016.”
The state says they are going to propose an increase of 5%, around $8 million, in state funding for the plan to the legislature, which meets in January.
Flag for the State of Montana John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
Nonstop Local spoke with multiple Montana state employees from several agencies, including: DPHHS; Fish, Wildlife and Parks; Department of Transportation; Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Administration; and the Department of Justice. A common theme was frustration that there wasn’t more communication before the increase.
“I'm the vice president of my local, a huge local at the Department of Public Health and Human Services,” said Shanni Barry, an administrative law judge. “And there's an onslaught of panic. Where did this come from? Why were we not communicated with? And, you know, it's unfortunate we didn't have the ability to communicate.”
The state is currently in negotiations with the Montana Federation of Public Employees for the 2028-2029 biennium. Negotiations begin before each legislative session and continue as lawmakers debate the state budget.
John Riley NonStop Local Reporter
President Melissa Romano says MFPE was disappointed by the sudden announcement of the plan change. She noted this change effectively wipes away recent employee raises that were negotiated.
“I really credit Gov. Gianforte, his administration, for bringing his business background with him.” she said. “I think we saw great things happening in the 2023 session and the 2025 session for state employee pay plans altogether, and this increase in health care really just knocks that away. And, you know, it's viewed by our members as a pay cut.”
Romano notes that many of their members are on very tight budgets and MFPE is hopeful they can work something out sooner rather than later.
“We also realized that the timeline is tight. People will start making health care choices and selecting which plan they'd like in October or November. And so we are really hopeful that we can find a solution that works by October 1st, but ideally by September 10th is what we would love,” noted Romano.
State employee vision and dental plans will not see any increases to employee contributions next year.
Editor’s note: John Riley’s wife is a state employee who is on the Health Benefit Plan. He is not on that plan, but he believes it is important to disclose any potential conflicts of interest for transparency. Nonstop Local’s senior editorial team reviewed the story and had the final say before it aired.
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