Neighbor Helping  Neighbor  Maybe Republicans in the current Montana Legislature could learn something from the community of Roundup.  This is what Roundup citizens know about each other:  they help out in times of need.  Through the flood of 2011, the fires of 2012, and the flood of 2014, the community comes together with support, shelter, and provisions.

Republicans in the current Montana Legislature, on the other hand, seem to deny help when it's needed.  Take, for example, healthcare insurance.  This is something, one would imagine, that most if not all Montana Legislators carry.  Who wouldn't want to carry insurance to encourage disease prevention and help brunt the cost of healthcare?  It only makes sense to do so.  But what about those who have difficulty taking care of their basic needs let alone carry healthcare insurance?  Wouldn't it make sense that, given the opportunity to help those in need (those whose families' lives may depend on the health of their caregivers), the Legislature would fall all over itself to do so?

It is true that all Montana citizens can access www.healthcare.gov website and explore possible healthcare insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act.  As of March 1, according to the Billings Gazette, 22,500 Montanans now have insurance through this government program.  However, for those most vulnerable among us, those with the least amount of means, cannot access help through ACA.  Why not?  In 2013, Republicans in the Montana Legislature blocked the extension of Medicaid, reports the Gazette.  Consequently,...'some 50,000 Montanans earning below 100 percent of the federal poverty level--$11,670 for a single person -- do not qualify for federal subsidies to help buy insurance and therefore probably aren't able to afford it...'  It was Medicaid, in other words, that was supposed to cover this group.

Neighbor helping neighbor?  Maybe that's true in the Roundup community but when it comes to Republicans in the current Montana Legislature, one cannot be so sure.