Medicare a Major Economic Driver in Montana

Medicare contributes  $1.9 billion to Montana’s economy, equivalent to 19% of state and local government spending in the state, according to a new report from AARP. Medicare also covers  more than 203,000 Montanans.

Older Americans have said Medicare is one of their top issues in the 2018 mid-term elections, and AARP Montana is working to encourage voter participation this election season.

Also, businesses in Montana receiving Medicare dollars use them to pay employees’ salaries, rent, state and local taxes, and buy equipment, and make capital improvements to their facilities.

Here’s how much Medicare* spent in Montana by health care service sector.

• $1.1 billion for hospitals
• $330 million for doctors
• $68 million health professionals
• $265 million for prescriptions and medical supplies
• $31 million for medical equipment

Recently, AARP worked to help close the Medicare Part D doughnut hole a year early – a victory for older Americans that the pharmaceutical industry is working to undo. AARP has also long opposed efforts that would reduce benefits or shift costs onto consumers by turning Medicare into a voucher program.  Such a move would dramatically increase people’s health care costs, and expose current and future retirees to greater financial risk.

AARP has launched a comprehensive  voter engagement campaign to support Americans age 50-plus as they vote in the 2018 elections. The campaign,  Be The Difference Vote, will provide information on where politicians stand on the issues and help these decisive voters hold politicians accountable for their positions this November.

AARP’s effort will seek to get the largest possible turnout of 50-plus voters at the polls in the general election in November. It will also work to ensure issues of particular importance to older voters are front and center—issues like Medicare, Social Security, financial security, prescription drug costs, and caregiving.

Click here for a downloadable fact sheet on Medicare in Montana.

*Medicare only covers short-term skilled care in nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and at home for an illness or injury; it does not cover long-term services at home or in a nursing home. For information on what services Medicare covers, see “What Medicare Covers” at  www.Medicare.gov.