Mary Caferro

We’re on day 55 of the 90-day session. This week we’re talking about health care funding, childcare initiatives and vaccine bills.This is The Session, a look at the policy and politics inside the Montana statehouse.

After a study found the state underpays Montana Medicaid providers by tens of millions of dollars, lawmakers have advanced a proposal to fully fund the gap.

More nursing home closures are on the horizon as their financial struggles continue. But lawmakers are trying to reduce that risk through measures that would raise and set standards for the Medicaid reimbursement rates that nursing homes depend on for their operations.

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.

This week, lawmakers are starting to piece together the biggest part of the state budget, and worldviews about LGBTQ rights are colliding over rules for public schools. Listen now on The Session.

Montana lawmakers take their oaths of office and begin their work in the state Capitol. Host Nadya Faulx and reporters Shaylee Ragar, Ellis Juhlin, and Arren Kimbel-Sannit discuss a rules debate that's dividing the GOP, how moderate Republicans are working with Democrats, a new Montana Freedom Caucus, and the beginnings of the state budget.

Lawmakers in several conservative-led states — including Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, and Mississippi — are expected to consider proposals to provide a year of continuous health coverage to new mothers enrolled in Medicaid.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in February warned the state it could lose funding after they found that the Montana State Hospital didn’t have measures in place to prevent COVID-19 infections and serious falls among patients, which led to four deaths.

Providing a mental health service for high-needs students has become more complicated for Montana’s school districts. Some are opting for other services that advocates and mental-health providers say are inadequate.

A proposal to create a politically appointed panel to decide who gets Medicaid coverage for abortions was met with bipartisan pushback last session. Republican lawmakers compromised and changed the proposal to a study of the issue over the next two years instead.