Montana Federal Candidates Detail Health Care Plans Ahead of Midterms
Montana Free Press surveyed the state's nine candidates for U.S. House and Senate on how they would address healthcare affordability, access and quality, as part of a three-part series ahead of the 2026 midterms. Candidates' responses ranged from Republican Senate candidate Kurt Alme's call to repeal ACA subsidies in favor of price transparency and consumer-directed healthcare dollars, to Libertarian Kyle Austin's proposal to consolidate Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, ACA subsidies and other federal health programs into a single nonprofit administrative entity. The poll underlying the story found about two-thirds of Montana voters report difficulty affording healthcare, with 90% of Democrats and 37% of Republicans calling the issue very important to their vote. Absentee ballots begin mailing October 9, with the election one month away.