Health Providers Scramble to Keep Remaining Staff Amid Medicaid Rate Debate

The ranks of community-based behavioral health providers in Montana have diminished amid rising costs, greater need, and stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates. Now, as state lawmakers debate solutions, providers are hoping just to cover their costs.

Fresh Produce Is an Increasingly Popular Prescription for Chronically Ill Patients

Fresh produce prescription programs are getting a boost in Montana as a way of helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The approach may be a model for other rural states to promote healthy eating in food deserts.

Schools Struggle With Lead in Water While Awaiting Federal Relief

President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that federal funds will pay to replace lead pipes in hundreds of thousands of schools and child care centers. In the meantime, schools are dealing with high lead levels now.

Information Blackout Shrouds New Reports of Deaths, Injuries, and Abuse at Montana State Hospital

Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won’t release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.

Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security in Rural America

In a few weeks, pandemic-era emergency boosts to SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will be rolled back across 32 states, putting more pressure on food pantries to fill the gaps and exacerbating challenges for rural areas, where a greater share of people are enrolled in the program compared with metro areas.

Republican Lawmakers Shy Away From Changing Montana’s Constitutional Right to Abortion

Lawmakers in 14 states have passed near-total bans on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But in some conservative-led states where court rulings determined their constitutions protect abortion, including Montana, politicians haven’t asked voters to weigh in.

Montana’s Tax-Exempt Hospitals Oppose Increased Oversight by State Officials

As Montana officials seek to make nonprofit hospitals prove the benefits they provide the community justify their tax exemptions, industry leaders propose their own changes — which state officials say would further limit the state’s authority.

Why Two States Remain Holdouts on Distracted Driving Laws

Missouri and Montana are the only states without distracted driving laws for all drivers. With traffic fatalities rising significantly nationwide, some Missouri lawmakers and advocates for roadway safety are eyeing bills in the new legislative session that would crack down on texting while driving in the Show Me State.

Montana Lawmakers Seek More Information About Governor’s HEART Fund

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Healing and Ending Addiction Through Recovery and Treatment fund has spent $5.2 million since 2021. With a proposed increase, providers and lawmakers alike want to tap into the money.

Wave of Rural Nursing Home Closures Grows Amid Staffing Crunch

Many small-town care facilities that remain open are limiting admissions, citing a lack of staff, while a wave of others shutter. That means more patients are marooned in hospitals or placed far away from their families.