The Great Falls Public Schools board voted unanimously not to participate at this time in Bridged Health Alliance, established by the 2023 Montana Legislature as a health and wellness benefits trust for public school systems.

Bridged Health Alliance is the formal name of the trust that was established by the Montana Schools Insurance Alliance.

The GFPS board took the recommendation of the district’s insurance committee.

Bridged needs a commitment to cover at least 12,000 employees from 150 districts to qualify for a one-time $40 million legislative incentive.

Participating districts must commit to a five-year participation period with an exit option after year three if renewal costs exceed statutory thresholds.

GFPS considering joining new state healthcare trust [2025]

Bridged representatives met several times with the GFPS insurance committee and each time the district’s committee has asked specific questions on the plan’s effectiveness, cost savings, and how aspects of the plan will work differently than its current health insurance plan.

GFPS has not received responses to those questions, according to the district.

Bridged has enough participants to qualify without GFPS, according to the district, so the insurance committee recommended waiting to see how the Bridged trust works in its first year for other school districts, then reevaluate GFPS participation.

Tom Cubbage, Great Falls Education Association president and insurance committee member, told the school board during the March 9 meeting that the committee has spend a lot of time researching and making the existing insurance program better.

He said the committee has done its due diligence and “I think its’ a very wise choice to wait a year.”

Bill Bronson, school board member and non-voting member of the insurance committee, said that the group is informed and engaged, finding their recommendations well thought out.

Bronson said the district is a self-insured plan currently and in considering Bridged, has looked at how the current plan works, particularly compared to other AA districts statewide.

“We have a very good plan, considering all of the options and all of the issues we are facing out there in providing health insurance,” Bronson said.

“For us, there are too many uncertainties,” Bronson said, to participate in the Bridged plan at this point.

Bronson said it was a difficult decision for him to make since three years ago, the state school board association asked trustees statewide to ask lawmakers to develop a statewide insurance trust.

He said he thinks it’s a good idea for the state, but didn’t have enough details yet to recommend that GFPS participate.

Though he expects blowback from the state school board association as a result of GFPS’ decision not to participate, Bronson said trustees are elected in their own districts to make decisions based on what’s best for the district.