Health care

Montana’s share of the $26 billion national opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its distributors is starting to flow to communities. The first two grants approved will serve Lake County.

The Montana Nurses Association and Community Medical Center in Missoula announced Friday they agreed to a new union contract. Montana Tech has been awarded $6.5 million from the Department of Defense to fund workforce development in the mining industry.

Montanans on Medicare could see big savings on prescription drugs next year.

A Helena hospital has agreed to pay the federal government nearly $11 million to settle allegations that it falsified billing paperwork for federal health programs.

One of the state’s largest health networks plans to open a new health care facility next year in Missoula.

Harlowton is getting a new hospital. Federal officials and hospital staff broke ground at the new site in Central Montana Friday.The facility is scheduled for completion by the end of next year.

The state is delaying plans to expand mental and behavioral health services through a federal program.

There is more turnover among Montana State Hospital leadership. This comes as the state prepares to apply for federal recertification. The state’s psychiatric hospital for adults has gone through a handful of leaders since it lost federal certification in 2022 due to patient deaths.

In past years, about 30 patients traveled to Montana annually to access abortion care. In 2023, the first year Idaho’s ban was in full effect, that number rose to 88.

State health officials say the number of Montanans on Medicaid is down roughly 5 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. That’s according to the state’s final report on its Medicaid redetermination process.