Health care

In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they're working, volunteering or studying, starting Jan. 1. But Montana is starting that early, and it's sowing confusion and anxiety.

State employees will see big changes to their health care coverage next year. That includes increases to monthly premiums, deductibles and what workers pay per visit to the doctor’s office. The state needs to come up with roughly $70 million to cover state workers’ health care through next year.

Flathead County has warned of measles exposure in several public places. According to The Flathead City-County Health Department, a person with measles visited spots in the county while infectious earlier this month. Measles is very contagious and can spread through the air, even without direct contact with the inflected person.

Gov. Greg Gianforte Tuesday announced the director of the state health department is leaving for a job in the private sector. Charlie Brereton has led the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services for about four years.

State officials confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, in a small, commercial flock of Ravalli County chickens Thursday; Glacier National Park officials Thursday announced that Tularemia was detected in a beaver.

When kids in Montana experience a mental health crisis, it can be hard to find a facility that can help them. That’s because many facilities that offered crisis care for kids have closed. A new youth home opening in Missoula may help fill that gap.

State health officials last week told lawmakers the rollout of work requirements for people on Medicaid is going well. Montana soft-launched Medicaid work requirements July 1, months ahead of the federal deadline to do so.

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protections for abortion access four years ago, Montana providers expected to serve more people from neighboring states with bans. But the ability to put medications in the mail upended that expectation and led to more Montanans getting abortions. A federal case in Louisiana could limit that access.

Planned Parenthood of Montana announced this week it’s opening a new clinic in Bozeman. The facility will open its doors next year and will provide reproductive health and abortion services. It’s been more than 20 years since they’ve opened a new clinic.

Psychiatrists in Montana say a major insurance company is shortchanging them through a practice called “downcoding.” Psychiatric associations have filed two complaints with state regulators.