Twice during the legislative session, minority Democrats mustered enough support from Republicans across the aisle to kill GOP bills aimed at ending continuous eligibility in the stateâs Medicaid expansion program.
But at the end of the Legislature the policy was enacted anyway, folded into the appropriations bill for the operations of state government.
"This policy idea was thoroughly vetted ... and was defeated on a bipartisan vote because it's awful policy," said Rep. Ed Stafman, a Bozeman Democrat, in the waning hours of the session.
So how did the provision â which Democrats argue could kick the working poor off health care coverage and some Republicans say is necessary to prevent abuse of the program â resurface and end up becoming law?