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Montana

As of 2019, Montana had 86,600 people without health insurance, according to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). That amounts to 8.3% of the state’s population. The nonprofit looked at the uninsured tally again in 2021 and found that of the people who still don’t have health insurance, about 53,000 of them are eligible for marketplace health insurance.

Marketplace health insurance is the kind sold on (and off) the federal or state marketplace, depending on where you live. This coverage adheres to the rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). That means it covers pre-existing conditions, includes 10 essential health benefits and provides certain consumer protections by law.

The law also created subsidies, aka premium tax credits, to help offset the cost of insurance for people with low to moderate incomes. These tax credits are available to people earning 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level. Most people qualify.

In Montana, KFF found that of the people still without health insurance who qualify for marketplace plans, 25% of them could get a bronze plan for free (no premium) thanks to subsidies.

The nonprofit also looked at average lowest premiums in each metal tier nationwide for 2021. In Montana, the average lowest costs were $251 for a bronze plan, $295 for a silver and $362 for a gold plan. These amounts don’t include any tax credits.

If you qualify for a tax credit, you may save money on your premiums. Using data from our own marketplace, we estimated that a 40-year-old living in Bozeman, MT, with an annual income of $37,000 might pay around $262 a month for a bronze plan. That includes a subsidy.

Of course, what you pay for coverage and the plans available to you depend on where you live. Montana has at least three insurers in 2021, including Montana Health Co-op, HCSC and PacificSource.

Sources

Kaiser Family Foundation, “Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Marketplace Eligibility Among the Uninsured: Implications for a Broadened Enrollment Period and ACA Outreach” (January 27, 2021)
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2018-2021”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021” (November 23, 2020)

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