Montana’s Recovery
Our organization is already being recognized for advancing freedom and free markets in Montana.
I’m proud to announce that Frontier Institute is a finalist for the State Policy Network’s Bob Williams Award for “Most Impactful Research”.
Being that we have only just crossed one year since we founded the Frontier Institute, I feel honored that our organization is already being recognized for advancing freedom and free markets in Montana.
The 2021 legislature embraced our Montana Recovery Agenda, a comprehensive research report we released in December, advancing an incredible seven out of eight policy recommendations to break down government barriers to success and help spur a robust economic recovery.
Together, we advanced policies that will have real, tangible impacts on Montanans’ livelihoods:
- A nursing home in Billings will finally be able to remodel their facilities to better serve their patients without facing the red tape of Certificate of Need laws.
- An entrepreneurial couple in Whitefish will now be able to pursue their dream of providing specialty DPC healthcare to underserved areas in rural Montana, without fear of government regulations.
- 3 doctors in Western Montana will now be able to dispense affordable prescriptions directly to their patients, saving them money and an extra trip to the pharmacy.
These impactful changes would NOT have been possible without the encouragement and support we’ve received from followers like you. I can’t thank you enough.
Voting is now open to pick the final winner, so if you feel so inclined, click HERE to submit your vote in support of Frontier Institute.
For Liberty,
Kendall Cotton
. . .
The Latest
ICYMI
- Make sure you catch our latest column in Lee Newspapers: Friendliness is as American as Baseball, Hotdogs and Apple Pie.
Our Take:
“America’s founders knew that without respect for human dignity, freedom would collapse through conflict. When someone is viewed as a label based on their group identity and not as an individual equally worthy of respect, even friends can be ‘canceled.’”
Transparency
- The Trump administration’s transparency rule, which requires that hospitals post prices negotiated between hospitals, insurers and their clients, went into effect this year, but many hospitals still have not complied. The Missoulian reports that some hospitals bury their prices, do not include all the information, or fail to disclose any information at all.
Our Take:
The sign of a healthy and free market is transparency of its day-to-day prices. Luckily, Montana passed a couple pieces of legislation this year clearing the path for a more free market for healthcare. Montana removed barriers to entry for Direct Primary Care, which are by definition willing to be transparent with their prices. Montana also repealed Certificate of Need laws, which will help boost price competition. With more choice and competition in healthcare markets, more businesses will voluntarily post their prices.
No Emergency
- Governor Gianforte ended Montana’s 15 month long COVID-19 state of emergency last week. The state of emergency was first declared by Governor Bullock in March of 2020, followed by a stay-at-home order and a mask mandate. Montana Free Press reports that Gianforte’s “announcement cited declining numbers of new cases and hospitalizations attributed to the virus, as well as progress made in distributing COVID-19 vaccines.”
Our Take:
After 15 months of hardship, this announcement is another hopeful glimpse at an economic recovery for small businesses ravaged by the virus and government lockdowns. Montana is still feeling the impacts from the last year of government intervention in the economy, but Governor Gianforte’s move to open the economy up and incentivize Montanans to get employed is a step in the right direction.