Understanding the unique challenges in medical care faced by communities in Montana, Jon has achieved concrete results to improve health care for all Montanans.

From his seat on the influential Appropriations Committee, Jon has fought for and won critical investments and upgrades for Montana’s hospitals, from the Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, to Benefis Health System in Great Falls, to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) Clinic in Libby.

A champion for rural veterans, Jon successfully fought for new Vet Centers in Kalispell, Missoula and Great Falls, and for continued work on Billings’ Outpatient Clinic to expand medical services for Montana’s veterans. 2010 also saw Jon’s landmark Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act signed into law, which is strengthening medical care for all veterans in Montana.

In 2009, Jon helped pass into law the bipartisan expansion of S-CHIP, to provide health insurance to thousands of additional Montana children, and millions more nationwide.

Jon strongly supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is finally holding health insurance companies accountable. During the debate in the Senate, Jon shared with his colleagues the real stories of hardworking Montanans who had contacted him with stories of being dropped by their insurers when they got sick, or being denied coverage all together, or having to sell their family farm or ranch because of medical bills.

Jon helped pass the new law, which improved health care for Montanans by:

• preventing insurance companies from denying coverage due to preexisting conditions
• stopping insurance companies from dropping coverage when folks get sick
• banning insurance companies from placing caps on lifetime coverage
• ending copayments for preventative health services
• letting students stay on their parents’ coverage up to age 26
• shoring up Medicare and closing the prescription drug “doughnut hole” over time
• providing tax credits to small businesses who insure their employees
• permanently reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act
• protecting veterans’ and military benefits
• making sure insurance companies spend more money on patient care instead of just padding their profit margins
• creating new insurance exchange markets where farmers, ranchers, and self-employed folks can find affordable coverage
• cutting the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars

Jon took aim at the leading cancer among Montana men when he introduced the Prostate Cancer Act. The legislation would streamline and expand prostate cancer research underway at the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans’ Affairs. The measure would specifically strengthen research on improvements or alternatives to current screening tests and help develop methods to distinguish between different forms of prostate cancer.

And in 2010, after helping secure a Public Health Emergency declaration for Libby, Montana, Jon introduced legislation to recruit needed medical specialists to areas affected by Public Health Emergencies. Jon’s measure would open up scholarships and student loan assistance to certified primary care specialists who commit at least two years to serving in such areas.

Click HERE to see more about where Jon stands on improving health care for Montanans.