Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services

The number of Montanans who have tested positive for influenza this year continues to grow following last year’s nonexistent flu season.

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Adam Meier Friday called the Biden Administration’s new COVID vaccine mandate for health care facilities “unfortunate,” arguing that it will exacerbate Montana’s current health care worker shortage.

Last week a 16-bed wilderness therapeutic boarding school in northwest Montana, where boys were once made to sleep outside without proper clothing, closed. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton spoke with Lee Newspapers’ State News Bureau Reporter Seaborn Larson, who covered the private school’s closure.

A Democratic state lawmaker Wednesday questioned the head of the state health department about whether medical experts were involved in making a controversial emergency rule issued last month regarding masking in schools.

A nearly $1 million federal grant has allowed the state to contract with six providers that could provide drug treatment to over 400 Montanans over the next two years.

Montana is one of the 50 states that saw surveys pile up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office Tuesday announced a new emergency rule telling public school districts they should consider input from parents and provide exemptions when it comes to mask mandates. Public health experts say the rule undermines measures to keep kids safe in schools.

Montana’s health department is finalizing a proposal to increase how often it audits people enrolled in the state’s coverage program for low-income adults. Health care providers and advocacy groups say some will unnecessarily lose their health coverage.

The Montana state health department's latest analysis of COVID-19 spread says case numbers over the last month are showing exponential growth. The latest epidemiological review of COVID in Montana was released this week.

A record number of Montanans are enrolled in the state’s expanded health coverage program for low-income adults. More than 9% of the state's population is…