Aaron Flint, the Republican nominee for Montana's 1st Congressional District, defends the One Big Beautiful Bill Act against repeal: his campaign attacked his opponent on October 13, 2026 for promising to repeal it. KFF's allocation of the Congressional Budget Office estimate puts Montana's loss at $2.935 billion in federal Medicaid money over ten years, 14% of what the state would otherwise receive.
The law's Medicaid work requirement is already enforced in Montana: the state began a soft launch in July 2026 and began enforcing it on October 1, with nearly 71,000 people subject to it. Flint's campaign says the law's rural health fund will protect rural hospitals, but KFF counts a $1.55 billion cut to federal Medicaid spending in rural Montana against a first-year award of $234 million.
Aaron Flint's Defense of the Law's Medicaid Cuts and Work Requirement
- Flint Defends the Law That Cuts $2.9 Billion From Montana Medicaid, in October 2026. In a campaign release on October 13, 2026, Aaron Flint's campaign faulted his Democratic opponent, Sam Forstag, because he "has promised to repeal the One Big Beautiful Bill," and said Flint would put the law's rural health money to work. Defending the law against repeal is an endorsement of the law, including its Medicaid provisions. KFF reports the Congressional Budget Office estimate that the law will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion over a decade and leave 10 million more people uninsured in 2034. In Montana, KFF projects 39,000 more people without health insurance in 2034 because of the law, a range of 29,000 to 49,000.
- The Law Flint Defends Put a Medicaid Work Requirement on Montana Adults, Enforced Since October 2026. The law Aaron Flint's campaign defends requires adults covered through Medicaid expansion to document 80 hours a month of work, volunteering or school, or an exemption. Montana began applying the requirement with a soft launch in July 2026, months before the January 1 date most states must meet, and started enforcing it on October 1. The state health department estimates that around 13,000 adults, about 18% of Montana's expansion enrollees, will lose coverage. Of the 59 positions the department said it needed to run the rules, only about 20 were filled as of a September 9 legislative hearing, Montana Public Radio reported.
- Flint's Campaign Says the Law Protects Rural Hospitals, While It Cuts Rural Montana Medicaid by $1.55 Billion. Aaron Flint's October 13, 2026 release said the law "includes the Rural Health Transformation Program," that Montana will receive $233.5 million from it in fiscal 2026, and that "Aaron would put those resources to work protecting rural hospitals." KFF estimates the same law reduces federal Medicaid spending in rural Montana by $1.55 billion over ten years, while Montana's first-year rural fund award is $234 million, or $394 per rural resident.
What the Medicaid Cuts Aaron Flint Defends Mean for Montana Patients
- 38,600 Medicaid expansion adults in western Montana face the work requirement. KFF counts 99,100 people in Montana's 1st District enrolled in Medicaid in 2025, 17% of the district, and the largest group is 38,600 adults covered through expansion, the group that must now prove 80 hours a month of work, school or volunteering, or qualify for an exemption, or lose coverage.
- A Montana enrollee's letter gave conflicting deadlines, one of them 30 days. A Montana enrollee told Montana Public Radio that her June 2026 letter gave two deadlines, one at her spring renewal and one requiring proof "within 30 days"; critics say "that confusion will lead to people unnecessarily losing coverage," the station reported.
- Montana stopped a planned Medicaid benefit for births as the cuts approached. Montana halted a planned Medicaid benefit that would have covered doulas for pregnant women, NPR reported, stopping it "amid a budget shortfall and fears over coming federal Medicaid cuts."
Frequently Asked Questions About Aaron Flint on Health Care
What is Aaron Flint's record on health care under Trump?
Aaron Flint's campaign defends the One Big Beautiful Bill Act against repeal, a law that takes $2.935 billion in federal Medicaid money from Montana over ten years. Its work requirement has been enforced in Montana since October 1, 2026, and the state expects about 13,000 adults to lose coverage. Flint's campaign points to the law's rural health fund, which is smaller than the law's rural Medicaid cut in Montana.
What has Aaron Flint said about the law behind Montana's Medicaid work requirement?
Aaron Flint's campaign defends the law that requires the work rule and faulted his opponent in October 2026 for promising to repeal it; Montana has enforced it since October 1, 2026 for nearly 71,000 people. In December 2025, before the state's early start, state health officials estimated that nearly 10,000 Montanans would lose Medicaid by 2029 under the rules.
Will the rural health fund Aaron Flint talks about save Montana hospitals?
Aaron Flint's campaign says it would use the fund to protect rural hospitals, but KFF's figures show the law cuts $1.55 billion from federal Medicaid spending in rural Montana over ten years, while the fund's first-year award to Montana is $234 million.
Last updated: 2026-10-26