Hospitals recruit international nurses to fill pandemic shortages
Billings Clinic is just one of scores of hospitals taking this strategy. The demand is so high, and the nursing shortage so great, that there’s a backlog of thousands of international health care professionals awaiting visas to work in the U.S.
Latest health Reporting
Giving when it hurts
Montana nonprofit hospitals receive millions of dollars in tax exemptions as charities each year in exchange for giving back to their communities. A Kaiser Health News review finds that some of the state’s richest medical centers are falling behind most state and national hospitals.
The ivermectin anger
Some people are putting pressure on health care workers to provide unauthorized COVID treatments, particularly in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low, government skepticism is high, and conservative leaders have championed the treatments.
Montanans to receive partial refunds for insurance premiums
Nearly 16,000 Montanans who purchased Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance through the marketplace are set to receive partial reimbursement for premiums paid between 2018 and 2020.
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MORE HEALTH COVERAGE
Report: Insufficient staffing and training contributed to death at Shodair
Shodair Children’s Hospital’s failure to properly staff its residential facility and monitor patients contributed to a patient suicide in May of this year, according to a July inspection released by investigators at the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.
‘Please don’t do this to the people that depend on this.’
The Department of Public Health and Human Services estimates that ending continuous eligibility will save the federal and state governments roughly $22 million a year. Critics say the change could result in temporary lapses in coverage for more than 20,000 people.
Montana’s home health care shortage
A wage-induced shortage of home health care workers has been compounded this year by pandemic-related stress, the steadily rising cost of living and increased vacancies in other low-wage jobs. With Montana’s population aging, caregivers and their advocates say action is needed now to avoid a deepening crisis.
In a community with an abundance of wealth, mental health options still scarce
Gallatin County is one of the wealthiest regions of the Treasure State, but locals say it’s lacking a critical piece of infrastructure: health care for people experiencing mental illness, emotional disturbances and addiction.
Feds to nix work requirements in Montana Medicaid expansion program
Three years after the Trump administration encouraged states to require proof that adult enrollees are working a certain number of hours or looking for work as a condition of receiving Medicaid expansion benefits, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has reversed course under Democratic President Joe Biden.
Montanans call for action on home health worker wages
The state’s population is aging, and demand for at-home care is on the rise. Now caregivers are leaning on Congress to address wage and workforce issues.
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MORE HEALTH REPORTING
States step up push to regulate pharmacy drug brokers
With a new law that places pharmacy benefit managers under state oversight, Montana is one testing ground for whether more transparency will lead to lower prescription drug prices.
Tester takes a swing at Montana’s frontier physician shortage
A bill from Sen. Jon Tester would help rural hospitals host medical residents in hopes of retaining new physicians.
Blackfeet tribe welcomes back tourists after risky shutdown pays off
Visitors’ return is a relief for businesses forced to shutter last summer after Blackfeet tribal leaders closed roads on Glacier National Park’s east side
It’s about to get tougher for transgender Montanans to amend birth certificates
New law requires proof of surgery before transgender Montanans can have state officials amend their papers.
Montana health care laws are getting a cleanup crew
The Montana Nurses Association identified more than 270 statutes that failed to reflect current practice in Montana’s health care system, some of which haven’t been changed since the mid 1990s.
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