As Long Waits for Results Render COVID Tests ‘Useless,’ States Seek Workarounds
With COVID-19 tests bogged down in backlogs, some states that relied on private laboratories, such as Quest Diagnostics, are trying to adapt as caseloads rise.
Montana Rodeo Goes On, Bucking Fears on Fort Peck Reservation
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes initially opposed the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede this year, worrying about hundreds of people coming to their reservation for the rodeo amid coronavirus concerns. But the annual event was on private land and went ahead, highlighting the reopening tensions between resuming normal economic activities and protecting the vulnerable.
Montana’s Tribal Nations Preserve COVID Restrictions To Preserve Their Cultures
Some of Montana’s Native American nations are holding firm on coronavirus protections even as the rest of Montana reopens. They’ve got more at stake, they say, in protecting their elders who preserve their endangered culture.
Científica genera imágenes del coronavirus para que todos vean al “enemigo invisible”
Algunas de las imágenes más impresionantes del coronavirus, que es 10,000 veces más pequeño que el ancho de un cabello humano, provienen del microscopio de Elizabeth Fischer.
Scientist Has ‘Invisible Enemy’ In Sights With Microscopic Portraits Of Coronavirus
As an electron microscopist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Elizabeth Fischer has captured stunning images of emerging pathogens such as Ebola, the MERS coronavirus and now SARS-CoV-2.
Under COVID Cloud, Prisons In Rural America Threaten To Choke Rural Hospitals
A rural Montana county of 5,000 people lays claim to the state’s highest COVID-19 infection rate. The community risks additional spread, though, because of a private prison situated there. If the virus infiltrates the prison and just a fraction of inmates get sick, the area’s limited health resources may not endure.
Returning To Roots, Indian Health Service Seeks Traditional Healers
The Indian Health Service hospital at Montana’s Fort Belknap reservation has put out a call for applicants for two traditional practitioner positions, part of a new recognition of Native American ethnobotany expertise that was pushed underground for decades. The openings are already making waves in the state.
How The Pandemic And An Anti-Vax Health Official Are Roiling A Montana Community
In one conservative pocket of Montana, a local health board member who opposes vaccinations helped fight the state’s stay-at-home rules. But now, as the state slowly reopens, she faces a backlash of her own.
Rural Seasonal Workers Worry About Montana Medicaid’s Work Requirements
Montana is one of several states that want Medicaid recipients to prove they work a steady, minimum number of hours monthly. Will federal courts allow the Montana rule change to stand?
States Try A Gentler Approach To Getting Medicaid Enrollees To Work
Facing GOP pressure to install work requirements for adults getting Medicaid coverage, some states seek instead to offer more opportunities for job training.
They May Owe Nothing — Half-Million-Dollar Dialysis Bill Canceled
After reporting by KHN, NPR and CBS, Fresenius has agreed to waive a Montana man’s huge bill for out-of-network dialysis care.
First Kidney Failure, Then A $540,842 Bill For Dialysis
He needed the lifesaving treatment — he never expected a half-million-dollar bill for 14 weeks of care.
Montana’s Legislature Could Decide Medicaid Expansion’s Fate
A ballot initiative to fund Medicaid expansion with a tobacco tax failed in Montana on Tuesday. The expansion will expire in the state in June 2019, unless the legislature finds another way to fund it.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Split Decision On Health Care
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the Trump administration’s new birth control coverage rules and the potential impact of the midterm election results on health policy.
Midterm Election Boosts Medicaid Expansion, But Challenges Remain
Following the vote, nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in five states are poised to gain Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, say advocates. But many conservatives remain opposed to the expansion.
Tobacco Tax Battle Could Torch Montana Medicaid Expansion
A ballot initiative in Montana would tax cigarettes $2 a pack to help pay for the state’s Medicaid expansion. But the tobacco industry has spent more than $17 million fighting the effort.
States Explore Paths To Pay Their Share For Medicaid Expansion — Using Political GPS
The state-federal health insurance program is more popular than ever. Now, states that want to expand eligibility are devising new strategies to pay for it — creating, in many red states, a significant political challenge.
Readers And Tweeters Let Loose Over Kids Being Detained At The Border — And More
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Live From Aspen!
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times report from the Spotlight Health portion of the annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. They’re joined by Democratic Govs. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Steve Bullock of Montana.
‘Holy Cow’ Moment Changes How Montana’s State Health Plan Does Business
Other states are watching to see if controlling how much hospitals get paid can continue to hold down costs in “Big Sky Country.”
