Fallon County covers 1,621 square miles in the far southeastern corner of Montana, right on the North Dakota border. Baker, the county seat, and the much smaller Plevna are the only incorporated communities. Everyone else lives out on ranch and farm ground, and the Census Bureau counts the whole county as 100% rural.
That distance matters when stairs get hard. Doctors, home-modification contractors and equipment installers are a long drive away for most families here. A stair lift lets someone keep using the whole house they already own instead of moving to town or out of the county for care.
Most homes here are owner-occupied, detached single-family houses. Many are older farmhouses and ranch-style homes built decades ago on working agricultural land, usually with no accessibility features built in. Those houses were made for people who climbed stairs without thinking about it.
A straight staircase is the simplest and usually the least expensive to fit. If the stairs turn at a landing or wind around a corner, as they often do in older farmhouses, a curved rail is built to match that exact staircase. We measure every step at the visit so you know which kind your house needs.
Townhouses and walk-up apartments exist in the county too. In a shared building, the owner or landlord generally has to approve any rail attached to the stairs, so it helps to ask before the assessment.
On a farm or ranch place, the hardest steps are sometimes outside: the porch, the back door to the yard, or the steps down to a shop. Outdoor stair lifts use weather-rated parts and covers, which counts for a lot on the open plains of eastern Montana.
For someone who uses a wheelchair, a seat on a rail may not be the answer. A platform lift carries the chair itself. We will tell you plainly if a ramp or platform lift fits your situation better than a stair lift, because some funding programs pay for ramps but not stair lifts.
Many of the older homeowners are still tied to the land, running or living on farms and ranches, or on property near the oilfields, rather than living in planned senior housing.
That usually means the house is the plan. Families want a parent to stay on the place they know, and a stair lift is one of the more practical ways to make that work.
No program listed below names stair lifts outright on its own materials, so the honest answer is to call and ask. Several cover home modifications in general, which is the category a stair lift would fall under. Each program is summarized further down this page.
The Montana Assistive Technology Loan Program (MATL / MonTECH) is open to all income levels and lists home modifications among eligible uses. The USDA Section 504 Single Family Housing Repair Loans & Grants can help low-income rural homeowners, and Fallon County qualifies as rural. The Montana Big Sky Waiver can fund environmental adaptations for people who qualify for Medicaid and a nursing-facility level of care, though it has a waiting list.
For veterans, note that the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides. Statewide resources also include Community First Choice Services (CFCS), the Reverse Annuity Mortgage (RAM), and the Property Tax Assistance Program (PTAP) & Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit. A good first call is the Fallon County Council on Aging at (406) 778-3595, which can point you into the regional network.
A Montana Medicaid waiver for people who meet financial eligibility and a nursing-facility level of care; it lists environmental adaptations as a possible service but does not name stair lifts, and there is currently a waiting list. Apply through your County Office of Public Assistance or Mountain Pacific, or call (800) 219-7035.
Fallon County's designated Area I aging agency, based at 2030 N. Merrill Ave. in Glendive, runs regional services such as transportation, meals and LIHEAP/weatherization, mostly for adults 60 and older. Its site does not list a stair lift or home-modification program, so call (406) 377-3564 to ask about current local availability.
The local senior center at 420 W Montana Ave in Baker offers meals, transportation, housekeeping help, clinics in Baker and Plevna, and legal services for residents 60 and older. It does not list home-modification funding but is a useful first call for referrals at (406) 778-3595.
Offers loans up to $40,000 at 1% interest over 20 years, and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older who cannot repay a loan, for owner-occupants in rural areas with income below 50% of area median. The source mentions wheelchair ramps as an accessibility use but does not mention stair lifts.
Pays for medically necessary permanent alterations like entrance ramps and roll-in showers, up to $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime depending on disability status. It does not cover stair lifts; the VA explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, used to build, remodel or pay down an adapted home. The VA page gives ramps and wider doorways as examples and does not mention stair lifts.
A loan, not a grant, for Montana residents with a disability or family members borrowing for them, at 0% APR on the first $1,500 and 3.5% fixed above that, open to all income levels. Home modifications are an eligible use, though stair lifts are not named; call (406) 454-5709.
The nearest LIFTT office to Fallon County provides information, referral and connections to loan programs like MATL for people with disabilities. Its housing resources name ramps, grab bars and door widening but not stair lifts; call the Glendive office at (406) 948-8500.
Older adults
2030 N. Merrill Ave., Glendive, 59330
Veterans
708 Palmer Box 880, Miles City, 59301
None of the sources here say a stair lift is covered by name. The Montana Big Sky Waiver can fund environmental adaptations for people who meet Medicaid financial rules and a nursing-facility level of care, but there is a waiting list. Call (800) 219-7035 to ask.
The VA HISA grant explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts. The SAH and SHA grants do not mention stair lifts either. Veterans can talk through options with the Montana Veteran's Affairs Division Miles City Field Office at (406) 234-1385.
Yes. The Montana Assistive Technology Loan Program is open to any Montana resident with a disability, at any income level, and LIFTT in Glendive serves people with disabilities. Most Council on Aging and Area I services are aimed at people 60 and older.
The whole county is rural, and most families live a long way from installers. That is exactly why we schedule a home visit to measure the stairs in person before recommending a straight, curved or outdoor lift.
The USDA Section 504 source mentions accessibility improvements such as wheelchair ramps but does not mention stair lifts, so ask the USDA directly. Fallon County counts as rural for the program, and the grant portion is for homeowners 62 and older.
The Fallon County Council on Aging in Baker at (406) 778-3595 is a good starting point. It can refer you to Action for Eastern Montana at (406) 377-3564 and other programs on this page.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
