Roughly 30,000 Montanans enrolled in the state employee health insurance plan are set to see sharply higher costs beginning in 2027, including deductibles that will triple and maximum out-of-pocket expenses that will double, the Montana Department of Administration announced last week, according to ktvq.com.

What’s Changing

The proposed cost structure marks the most significant shift to the plan’s basic contribution framework since 2016. Under the new terms, individual medical deductibles would rise from $1,000 to $3,000. Individual out-of-pocket maximums would climb from $4,000 to $8,000, while family out-of-pocket caps would jump from $8,000 to $16,000.

Full-time employees would also begin paying an additional $60 per month in premiums. Those with family members on the plan would face an extra $100 monthly contribution on top of existing payments.

The State’s Position

Amy Jenks, administrator of the Department of Administration’s Health Care and Benefits Division, said officials weighed a range of options before landing on this approach. “We looked at many alternatives,” Jenks told ktvq.com. “This was the most feasible option for the state of Montana and the taxpayer dollars as well as the employees.”

Alongside the employee cost increases, the state is proposing to raise its own contribution to the health plan by 5 percent — an increase of approximately $8 million. That additional state funding, however, requires approval from state lawmakers before it can take effect.

Union Response

The Montana Federation of Public Employees, which represents many of the affected workers, pushed back sharply on the announced changes. Federation president Melissa Romano said the cost increases would force members into difficult financial trade-offs. “Our members are living paycheck to paycheck,” Romano told ktvq.com. “They’re going to have to make hard choices about whether they’re paying for groceries, gas, their rent or their mortgage, or whether or not they’re going to head to the doctor.”

Collective bargaining between the state and the federation was set to begin Thursday, giving the union a formal channel to challenge or negotiate the proposed terms before they are finalized.

Legislative Path Ahead

The proposed 5 percent increase in the state’s funding share cannot move forward without legislative authorization. That means the full picture of how cost burdens are distributed between the state and its employees won’t be settled until the 2027 legislative session — the same session during which the new plan structure is scheduled to take effect.

The timing creates some uncertainty: employees would begin absorbing higher deductibles and premium contributions at the start of 2027, while the companion increase in state funding remains contingent on what lawmakers approve when they convene. Montana’s regular legislative session meets only in odd-numbered years, meaning the 2027 session will be the next opportunity for lawmakers to weigh in.

For state workers already stretched thin, the gap between announced cost increases and unresolved state funding could shape the tone of both the bargaining process and the coming legislative debate over the health plan’s long-term sustainability.