Advocacy Opportunity: Ask Governor Gianforte to Automate the Montana Medicaid Community Engagement Analysis
July 14, 2025
The federal government just passed a major bill that will require people on Medicaid Expansion to prove they meet the Community Engagement Requirement every six months.
You can read the specifics of the requirement in Section 71119 of the bill here:
Congress bill text — https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
What Is the Community Engagement Requirement?
In practice, this requirement means that a person must regularly demonstrate that they are doing one of the following:
Working
Volunteering
Participating in an education program
The expectation is roughly 80 hours per month.
Based on our experience—and analysis from organizations like the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)—the biggest issue is not whether people are meeting the requirement (most people on Medicaid Expansion are working). The real challenge is the bureaucracy involved in proving it, such as:
paperwork
stamps and mail delays
phone calls and long customer service wait times
confusing reporting steps
KFF analysis:
https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/a-closer-look-at-the-medicaid-work-requirement-provisions-in-the-big-beautiful-bill/
What NAMI Montana Is Asking For
NAMI Montana is asking Montanans to contact Governor Greg Gianforte and request that Montana automate the majority of the Medicaid Community Engagement Requirement using existing State of Montana databases.
Automation can prevent thousands of Montanans from losing Medicaid coverage—not because they failed to meet the requirement, but because they couldn’t navigate outdated reporting systems.
Take Action: Contact Governor Gianforte
Please take a moment to either call Governor Gianforte’s office or send a web message:
Phone: 406-444-3111
Web Message: https://governor.mt.gov/contact/
Thank you for your support in preventing Montanans from losing Medicaid access due to antiquated reporting processes.
Matt Kuntz
Executive Director
Find more advocacy opportunities at:
https://www.namimt.org