Montana ban on gender-affirming care for minors temporarily blocked in court
A state district court judge in Missoula has blocked Montana’s ban on medical care for minors with gender dysphoria from taking effect while a lawsuit over its constitutionality continues, finding that the new law appears to have “no rational relationship to protecting children.”
Latest health Reporting
How will rural Americans fare during Medicaid unwinding? Experts fear they’re on their own
A lack of access to navigators in rural locales to help Medicaid enrollees keep their coverage or find other insurance if they’re no longer eligible could exacerbate the difficulties rural residents face.
Montana’s ban on medical treatments for transgender minors has first day in court
In a full Missoula courtroom on Monday, attorneys for plaintiffs and the state of Montana traded arguments about whether a ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors should be allowed to take effect while a challenge to the law’s constitutionality proceeds.
Montana to pay behavioral health consultants hundreds of dollars per hour
The Montana state health department has inked a likely multi-million dollar contract with a private consulting group to coordinate a mammoth two-year effort to reform mental health, addiction treatment and developmental disabilities services across the state.
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MORE HEALTH COVERAGE
State officials seek more control over judicial involuntary commitments
Montana health officials are asking lawmakers to change criminal commitment laws so the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has a say before a judge orders a patient committed to the Montana State Hospital or another state-run facility.
How far will Montana’s push to remove lead from school drinking water go?
The Montana Legislature designated $3.7 million this spring to remove lead from school drinking-water supplies. Then the state received $565,000 more on Aug. 1 from the $50 billion federal infrastructure package aimed at improving water systems nationally. But even with those two new pools of money intended to last two years, the state’s schools may…
Officials urge mosquito caution as recorded West Nile Virus cases rise
Health officials are urging Montanans to protect themselves from mosquito bites as state officials identify more cases of West Nile Virus.
Attorney General suggests Planned Parenthood of Montana abets human trafficking
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has accused one of the state’s most prominent abortion providers of falsifying records and “flagrantly” violating state law by withholding required reports about sexual assault against minors and statutory rape, suggesting that similar alleged inaction by the organization “could be happening with human trafficking victims.”
What’s in a name change for Montana’s leading abortion access group?
Montana’s primary abortion access fund, which helps people cover the cost of abortion and related expenses such as travel, lodging and childcare, is rebranding. What was once known as the Susan Wicklund Fund is now the Montana Abortion Access Program, or MAAP. Here’s why.
Federal regulators flag ‘concerns’ as Montana cuts Medicaid rolls
Federal regulators are urging Montana health officials to fix shortcomings in the state’s Medicaid redetermination process, expressing “concerns” that the state may be disenrolling people who are eligible for the public health insurance and creating barriers for others through long wait times at call centers and during the application process.

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