Health care

The state health department is offering $6.5 million in grant funds to help county jails offer mental health evaluations, medication and stabilization services to inmates. The hope is that inmates on the waiting list for care at the Montana State Hospital can get that care in jail instead.

Measles has returned to Montana for the first time in decades. Health officials say parents should take precautions as cases are confirmed in their community. The schedule for measles vaccines in the U.S. calls for kids to get their first dose around 12 months and a second shot right before kindergarten.

Measles has been detected in Montana for the first time in 35 years. There are five cases confirmed so far. County health officials expect case numbers to rise among the unvaccinated.

The 69th Legislature is kicking off week 15. Today, we're talking about health policy. This is 'The Session', a look at the policy and politics inside the Montana statehouse.

At least once a week, an eye doctor flies across northeast Montana to reach patients who may be hundreds of miles from the nearest eye doctor. As the state's population ages, the demand for eye care increases, especially in rural communities.

The law requires health insurance companies to cover mental health and physical health at the same level. Montana PBS's Anna Rau looked into whether or not that's happening and how it affects Montanans. She sat down with MTPR's Elinor Smith to explain.

Montana nursing homes will no longer be required to hire more nurses to comply with a federal rule on staffing issued by the Biden Administration. A federal judge has blocked that measure.

The state health department could be split in half under a bill that would break up the state’s largest agency.

Health care workers across Montana regularly experience violence and threats. That’s according to state data. However, the collection of that data may stop after lawmakers tabled a bill to continue that work.

Montanans with severe mental illnesses that are accused of crimes can languish in jail for more than a year as they wait for a bed at the state psychiatric hospital. New legislation would build a facility for those patients in eastern Montana.