Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services

Earlier this year, federal lawmakers created a $50 billion program to support rural health care. It came as a result over concerns that cuts to Medicaid will shutter many rural hospitals across the nation.

Montana Health officials have selected Laurel as location for a new $26.5 million state mental health treatment facility. The health department was looking for a location in the eastern portion of the state. The facility is intended to help address a backlog at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

State health officials say they are working to quickly send partial payments to families on federal food assistance. A court ordered the Trump administration to partially fund the SNAP program during the federal government shutdown.

Federal food benefits for low-income Americans won’t be available next month. Federal officials say funding has run dry because of the government shutdown.

State health officials told lawmakers this week they will likely need more funding to implement Medicaid work requirements.

The Montana State Hospital lost its federal certification in 2022 due to patient deaths. That decertification means the state can’t bill Medicaid or Medicare for patient services – a funding loss that has cost the state millions of dollars. State health officials plan to apply for federal recertification next year.

The state health department plans to request federal approval to enact both Medicaid work requirements and co-payments for doctor visits in September. The department opened a 60-day public comment period.

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

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.

Legislators have voted forward bills on property tax relief, Medicaid expansion, judicial oversight and more.