A Big Increase In Montanans Buying Health Insurance This Year

The uninsured population in Montana has decreased since May 2015.

"We've done a survey, as we do every year at the end of the national open enrollment period, of the number of people who got health insurance through what’s called the individual market or who have insurance through Medicaid or some other program," Communications Director of Securities and Insurance Jennifer McKee said. "We shift through all that data and this year we discovered that an additional 23,246 Montanans have health insurance this year more so than last year."

The percentage of Montanans continuing to lack health insurance has fallen to around 15 percent due to a few reasons.

"There are lots of things. It's easier to buy health insurance now and because of the federal tax credit its more affordable now for people than it's ever been," McKee said. "We know that of the folks who bought health insurance through healthcare.gov in 2015 about 85 percent of them got a federal tax credit to bring their monthly costs down. That's probably their biggest driver is the fact that it's affordable."

McKee says there will be a new open enrollment period this fall, but there are special enrollment opportunities where folks can get health insurance if they need it. For more information visit their website.