Montana seeks more religious exemptions to vaccination requirements
The state health department says the administrative rule changes are being proposed because of new laws against religious and vaccination restrictions.
Latest health Reporting
Gallatin County confronts another hurdle for mental health crisis care
Elected officials, community advocates and medical providers in Gallatin County have arrived at another crossroads in their efforts to overhaul local mental health services: figuring out where the first-stop destination should be for people experiencing an emergency behavioral health crisis.
Post-‘Roe,’ people are seeking permanent sterilizations, and some are being turned away
The uncertainty around abortion access in Montana and other states where abortion is now or could become illegal, plus the fear of future legal fights over long-term contraception, has seemingly spurred a rise in the number of people seeking surgical sterilization.
Montana wants to expand institutional mental health and addiction treatment. What’s the downside?
In July, the federal government authorized Montana to use Medicaid coverage at large inpatient addiction treatment facilities. But health authorities also delivered a significant set-back for the state’s overall plan: they would not allow Medicaid to cover treatments at large hospitals that handle serious mental illnesses, including the problem-plagued Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.
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MORE HEALTH COVERAGE
Meier out as Montana health department head
Department of Public Health and Human Services director Adam Meier, who had been appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte last year, will leave his post leading the state’s largest agency in August
Overturn of Roe shifts Montana abortion debates to state courts
Montana’s elected officials reacted to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which had made abortion legal nationwide for nearly 50 years.
With an eye on the U.S. Supreme Court, Montana abortion clinics prep for out-of-state patient surge
Montana is one of a handful of non-coastal states that would maintain a constitutional right to abortion if a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion leaked in May becomes binding this month. That would put pressure on Montana abortion providers to care for patients from across the country.
New Medicaid director fields questions on privatization, health program plans
The newly hired official tasked with running Montana’s Medicaid program got a grilling on Wednesday in his first public appearance before lawmakers, some of whom expressed concerns about the state potentially privatizing the system that handles health coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income Montanans.
Montana hires a medicaid director with a managed-care past
Montana’s new state Medicaid director, Mike Randol, started this week at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Randol oversaw privatized Medicaid systems in Iowa and in Kansas, and he has been a staunch advocate of managed care. Montana is one of just 11 states that has not privatized at least part of…
Tackling Montana’s EMS shortage, from the supply side
In December 2021, Missoula College graduated the first cohort from its new paramedic program. Now the program is exploring more ways to educate the next generation of first responders and help Montana tackle its ongoing EMS shortage — and it’s not alone.
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MORE HEALTH REPORTING
Following tour, lawmakers press Meier on solutions for troubled state hospital
State lawmakers on Friday reiterated their calls for urgent reforms at Montana’s adult psychiatric hospital in Warm Springs, which has long struggled with insufficient staffing and resources — problems that have resulted in patient falls, deaths and loss of federal funding within the last year.
Abortion politics lead to power struggles over family planning grants
Montana is the latest example of an ongoing power struggle between nonprofits and conservative-leaning states over who receives federal family planning money. That has intensified in recent years as the Title X program has increasingly become entangled with the politics of abortion.
Montana’s rolled-back public health powers leave some areas in limbo
Montana lawmakers stripped authority from local health boards last year when blowback against COVID prevention measures was at its peak. But a year later, there are ongoing power struggles between cities and counties over the law, and public health officers have been left to wonder to whom they answer.
Biden administration announces boost for rural health care in midterm election push
The announcement is part of Biden’s recently launched rural push as the midterm election season ramps up. Leading Democrats have said their party can’t afford to lose more rural voters if they want to keep control of the Senate. But political analysts are doubtful whether this rural tour will be enough to bring back the…
As state psychiatric hospital struggles, health department turns to private consultants
Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services has awarded a contract to a private consulting firm to oversee operations of state-run health facilities, including the psychiatric hospital and other services in Warm Springs.
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