Asbestos clinic in Libby forced to close
An asbestos screening clinic in a Montana town where thousands have been sickened dust from a nearby mine has been shuttered by local authorities. The move follows a court order to seize the clinic’s assets in order to pay off a judgment to railroad BNSF. Courts in Montana have said BNSF contributed to the asbestos…
Latest health Reporting
How Foundation for Government Accountability is chipping away at public benefits, one state at a time
Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative policy think tank out of Florida, has worked for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs. That includes SNAP, which federal data shows helps an average of 42 million people afford food each month. It also advocates for ways to cut Medicaid, the federal-state program…
In a broken mental health system, a tiny Montana jail cell becomes an institution of last resort
In Montana, counties are jailing mental health patients they’re not equipped to handle when the Montana State Hospital is at capacity. Few local hospitals have their own inpatient psychiatric beds. As a result, people arrested for anything from petty theft to felony assault can be jailed for months or longer as their mental health worsens.…
Montana confirms 5 measles cases in Gallatin County
Montana public health officials have identified five cases of measles in Gallatin County, the first confirmed instances of the infectious disease in the state since 1990.
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MORE HEALTH COVERAGE
The state medical board has evidence this doctor was hurting patients. It renewed his license — twice.
Since at least April 2021, the Montana medical licensing board has had evidence, including thousands of pages of patient files and medical reviews, that Dr. Thomas C. Weiner, a popular Helena oncologist, had hurt and potentially killed patients, ProPublica and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ have learned. Yet in that time, the board renewed his medical license…
Tribal health leaders say Medicaid cuts would decimate health programs
As Congress mulls potentially massive cuts to federal Medicaid funding, health centers that serve Native American communities are bracing for catastrophe.
Criminal abortion ‘trafficking’ bill gets hearing before first committee
Montana lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a felony for pregnant patients who obtain an “illegal†abortion within or outside of the state and criminally penalize anyone who assists them.
Montana renews cancer doctor’s license despite criminal, civil inquiries
In late 2020, St. Peter’s hospital in Helena fired its oncologist, Thomas C. Weiner, and took the extraordinary step of publicly accusing him of hurting patients. The hospital said the doctor overprescribed narcotics and gave chemotherapy to patients who didn’t have cancer, among other allegations.
Despite being notified by St. Peter’s that it had revoked…
Lawmakers in GOP-held Senate signal openness to continuing Medicaid expansion
Two Republican-sponsored proposals that would have phased out Medicaid expansion for tens of thousands of low-income adults in Montana or attached conditions to its continuation failed to pass the state Senate in back-to-back votes.
State Supreme Court sides with Helena hospital in case over Weiner’s firing
A Montana Supreme Court decision sided with St. Peter’s Health and several doctors in a complaint filed by Dr. Tom Weiner, the health facility’s former oncologist, over the internal reviews leading up to his firing in 2020.
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MORE HEALTH REPORTING
Medicaid expansion bill passes major House vote
A bill to continue Montana’s Medicaid expansion cleared an initial vote in the state House on Friday, a mile marker for one of the most high-consequence policies lawmakers are debating this session.
Charlo residents warned about elevated manganese in water
Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral found in rocks, soil, groundwater and surface water. It is also found in food and is necessary for proper nutrition. However, too much of the mineral can be bad, specifically for certain at-risk populations, including infants under the age of 1 who are still developing.
Felony bill for adults who procure, provide treatment for trans minors advances
A majority of lawmakers in the Montana Senate voted in favor of a bill Monday that would create a felony for parents and medical providers who provide or procure gender transition-related treatments to transgender adolescents.
Drawn-out overhaul of troubled state hospital leaves lawmakers in limbo
Montana lawmakers are grappling with what they can do to improve patient care and operations at the state’s psychiatric hospital since realizing that the efforts underway to restore the troubled facility’s good standing could take more time. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration has launched a complex and expensive overhaul of the state hospital’s operations with…
What to know about Medicaid expansion at the start of the legislative session
Medicaid expansion could sunset in 2025 if Montana lawmakers don’t renew it. Here’s what the program does and why it’s up for debate this year.
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