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Montana Free Press

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Montana DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton to Leave Oct. 30, Harrington Named Successor

Charlie Brereton will step down as director of Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services on October 30 after four years, moving to the private sector. Dr. Doug Harrington, the department's state medical officer, will replace him. The transition occurs as DPHHS oversees a $233 million federal Rural Health Transformation Program grant, implements new Medicaid and SNAP work requirements set to begin this fall, and manages a $7 billion biennial budget covering Medicaid, behavioral health, and other health and human services programs. Brereton led the agency through Medicaid unwinding, behavioral health investments, and rural hospital stabilization efforts.

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State Policy·MT·17d ago

Medicaid Work Requirements Create Medical Exemption Decisions for Disability Enrollees

States implementing Medicaid work requirements must now determine which disability enrollees qualify for medical exemptions, adding administrative burden to existing eligibility processes. The requirements affect cancer survivors and other disabled beneficiaries who attempt to work but face losing coverage when income or work activity triggers reviews. States must review medical cases for a broader population of Medicaid enrollees to adjudicate exemption requests. The policy creates operational challenges for state eligibility systems already managing disability determinations.

montanafreepress.org

State Policy·MT·95d ago

Montana Lacks Staff and Data Systems as Medicaid Work Requirements Near Implementation

Montana's health department has not hired the staff needed to review work requirement applications and lacks access to claims data required to verify medical exemptions as implementation approaches. The state only recently identified qualifying diagnoses for exemptions. These operational gaps raise questions about the state's readiness to administer work requirements without inappropriate coverage losses. The timing and specific effective date are not specified in the available content.

montanafreepress.org