Hi-Line legislators receive state health benefits, records show

All Hi-Line state lawmakers receive fully paid state insurance or a subsidy for their private insurance, according to documents released Friday.

State Reps. Wendy Warburton, R-Havre, Kris Hansen, R-Havre, Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, and State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, all receive their health benefits under the state legislature plan. State Sen. Rowlie Hutton, R-Havre, receives a state subsidy for the insurance plan provided by his employer.

The documents were released by the Montana Legislative Services Division in response to a freedom-of-information request filed by Lee Newspapers.

The cost of full health care benefits is $733 a month, Susan Byorth Fox, Legislative Services Division executive director, said in a letter to Mike Dennison, Helena bureau chief for Lee Newspapers. Lee publishes newspapers in Billings, Helena, Butte, Missoula and Hamilton.

Lawmakers receive the benefits 12 months a year, not just when the Legislature is in session.

Of the 150 members of the House and Senate, only seven declined to accept any health benefits, the documents show.

After Legislative Services Division turned down Lee's request for the document, State Sen. Anders Blewett, D-Great Falls, introduced a bill to require the documents be released.

Blewett's bill easily passed the Senate, but stalled in a House committee.

On Friday, State Rep. Ellie Hill, a Missoula Democrat, tried to force the Blewett legislation onto the House floor, but the effort was rebuffed by Republicans.

Republicans contended that Democrats raised the issue to embarrass Republicans who had spent much of the legislative session attempting to block implementation of President Barack Obama's health care reform initiatives.

But the Legislative Services Division reversed itself after Lee threatened to sue.

The information was released Friday afternoon, and Lee soon released the information to the public.