Steve Bullock

Near Butte’s Civic Center, a massive construction project is going on across the street, in the heart of town. Mammoth excavators gouge out a colossal hole in the ground. Jumbo haul trucks whisk 70 ton loads of chewed-up earth away on repeat.

Health care providers who take care of some of the most vulnerable people in Montana say they’re thankful for state budget restorations, but they hope it’s just the start.

Access to mental health services, something already hard to get for some Montanans, took a step backward this year because of state budgeting issues.

In the wake of the budget cuts, 10 offices closed and over 100 behavioral health care workers lost their jobs, according to one count by the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana, which represents more than 30 providers.

Governor Steve Bullock is creating a bipartisan working-group to develop a plan to reduce premiums for people who buy health insurance on the federal marketplace.

A Montana Healthcare Foundation study found that reinsurance programs insulate insurers from very high claims and save consumers money.