[2][3] After the adoption of HMK, children of families with a household income of up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level were eligible for CHIP coverage.
[2][3] Children of families with incomes up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level were eligible for Medicaid coverage, removing the requirement for clients to make a copay upon receiving treatment.
[5] HMK also helps to cover the costs of adding children who would be eligible for CHIP or Medicaid to their parents’ existing private insurance plans, thereby saving state funds.
[8] A separate revenue account, into which existing tax dollars were funneled, was created to compensate for the costs not covered by the federal government.
[8] Although there was widespread support for expanding health insurance coverage for children, the legislature was unable to reach a consensus on the expansion of CHIP or Medicaid.
[13] Former State auditor John Morrison, was inspired to launch the HMK initiative by his commitment to children's access to healthcare and his frustration with the legislature's inaction on the issue.
[2][3][6] Morrison wrote the ballot initiative to create HMK and "led a broad-based effort" to enact it, before returning to private life.
"[13] Promoters of Ballot Initiative 155 (I-155) promised that the implementation of HMK would insure 30,000 previously uninsured Montana children and that taxes would not be raised to cover the program.
[2][3] Then-Governor Brian Schwitzer directed his budget office to begin reserving the funds needed for the Healthy Montana Kids Plan in anticipation of the Initiative's passage.
[9] The Healthy Montana Kids plan passed by Ballot Initiative 155 included a provision that $22 million would be transferred from the state treasury to a special account to finance the program annually.
[9] Given the broad public support for the plan and the fact that the special account had already been created and filled, however, the Republican majority ultimately agreed to fund the program as enacted by the voters.
[2][3][9] After the passage of I-155, the legislature needed to update the existing Medicaid and CHIP plans to reflect the changes implemented by the Initiative.
[5] In addition to expanding CHIP and Medicaid benefits, I-155 required new measures to help parents enroll their eligible children.
[2][3] Former manager of the Medicaid and Health Services branch of the Department Mary Dalton said that the program "has been an outstanding success".
[4] Dalton noted that children who have access to affordable healthcare lead healthier lives and perform better in school.