Several dozen people gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell Monday evening, where Democratic congressional candidate Rob Quist held the first of several “Health Care Town Hall” stops across the state.

The Creston musician is running against Republican Greg Gianforte to finish out the term of Ryan Zinke, who vacated Montana’s lone U.S. House seat earlier this month to be the next Secretary of the Interior.

Quist supports the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” although he also said the landmark health care law still needs work. On Monday he reiterated his opposition to the replacement health proposal supported by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, who ultimately abandoned the American Health Care Act last week after failing to secure enough support in the House.

“Affordable health care should be a right of citizenship in the greatest country in the world. People should not have to go bankrupt just to maintain their health care,” he said.

Quist used the event to describe his own history of health problems and subsequent struggle to pay medical bills, which led to a series of debt-related lawsuits and tax liens detailed in a Billings Gazette article last week.

Years ago, a botched gall bladder surgery lead to subsequent health problems, Quist said Monday, upending his then-burgeoning music career and personal finances.

“I had everything in place, I was on a five-year plan in terms of my band, I had the best musicians you could have under the Big Sky, a sound company, I had a bus and I even had a record contract offer. I went in for the surgery and it was a disaster,” he said. “It was almost like somebody flipped the engine off on my whole program.”

The Cut Bank native spoke to a supportive crowd, which applauded Quist’s stated goal of expanding coverage to more uninsured Americans and offered their own stories of struggling to pay medical bills.

Quist also took several swipes at his Republican opponent, noting Gianforte’s absence in the Flathead Valley since the two major parties selected their candidates at the beginning of the month.

Gianforte campaign manager Shane Scanlon said Tuesday the Republican has held campaign events throughout the eastern part of the state during the past couple weeks, including media interviews and campaign stops in Billings, Helena and Great Falls.

The statewide special election to replace Zinke will be held May 25.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.