Health care

Montana’s top attorney will lead the Republican effort to elect more conservative attorneys general next year. State officials are looking for a site in Laurel to build a new mental health facility for criminal defendants.

A federal committee recently said children should no longer get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The change to the recommendation doesn’t remove parents’ ability to get their kids the vaccine at birth, but they will need to talk to their doctor ahead of time.

Some of Logan Health’s medical staff are unionizing. They say the Kalispell-based hospital system has chronically understaffed its primary care clinics, degrading working conditions.

In Montana, abortion access has been at times illegal, legal, and stuck in limbo. Providers have weathered bombings and arson, advocates and opponents have battled it out in court, and citizens have passed a constitutional amendment affirming a woman's right to choose. One listener wants to know more about the history of reproductive rights in Montana. MTPR's Aaron Bolton reports on the underground networks, political violence and landmark court cases that got us to where we are today.

Gallatin County health officials are reporting two new measles cases along with a list of public spaces where the infected individuals exposed others to the highly infectious virus. Health officials say that anyone who may have been exposed should confirm their vaccination status.

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.

Mine workers sue Sibanye Stillwater over alleged labor law violations; National park entrance fees to increase by hundreds of dollars for foreign tourists; Missoula County reports its first flu-related death of the season.

The federal government is open again. That means families on federal food assistance are getting full payments after more than a month of uncertainty. Even with the end of the shutdown, reservation residents and tribes may still face consequences in the aftermath.

The federal government shutdown has ended, but not the debate that started it. Republicans have promised a vote on health insurance subsidies that Democrats want to fund. Montana’s all-GOP congressional delegation says the subsidies need to end.

Montana health officials have submitted an application for the state's share of a $50 billion rural health fund. Montana will receive at least $500 million over five years. The federal funding is aimed at helping rural hospitals fill the gap left by Medicaid cuts