Jon Ebelt

The Trump administration has ordered states to change school curricula or lose funding for pregnancy prevention programs. The administration wants language related to "gender ideology" removed. It’s a move in line with other actions aiming to remove legal recognition for transgender and nonbinary people.

The state health department sent tens of millions of dollars back to the federal government last month after the Trump Administration cut several grants. Local health departments will feel the impact of those cuts.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human services is canceling over $11 billion worth of COVID-era grants. Some of those cuts are impacting the state, but it’s unclear how much funding is lost.

Enrollment for Montana’s health insurance marketplace is open until January 15. Insurance providers are seeing a surge in enrollment after more than 100,000 Montanans were removed from Medicaid this year. And the feds urge action after an 18% drop in Medicaid coverage of kids in the state.

Sixteen-thousand Montanans lost Medicaid coverage in July, according to new data from the state health department.

Health department officials are asking legislators to change criminal commitment laws amid a bottleneck at the Montana State Hospital.

Thousands are losing Medicaid coverage as the state redetermines Montanans’ eligibility. Federal officials say the state is trying to move through the process too fast, leading to procedural errors and confusion among enrollees.

The federal agency that oversees Medicaid said it’s concerned with Montana’s ability to provide customers help over the phone due to long wait times and a high rate of dropped calls.

Montanans seeking help over the phone with Medicaid enrollment are waiting on hold longer than residents of almost any other state. That’s according to July data from the federal agency that oversees the program.

A Yellowstone County judge has sanctioned the state of Montana and struck down its restrictions on birth certificate amendments for transgender residents.