Healthcare

died · Montana · House May 22, 2025

HB 377: Generally revise access by parent to child patient health care information

HB 377 revises Montana law to ensure parents generally have access to their minor child's health care records. It requires health providers to give parents access to a child's health information within 3 days of a request (or provide contact details for the records' location), with exceptions for court-limited parental rights, child abuse investigations, or government guardianship. The bill also clarifies that minors who can consent to certain care (like mental health services) have exclusive control over information related to that specific care, removing a minor's ability to enforce privacy violations by non-HIPAA-covered providers. This primarily affects parents, minors seeking care without parental consent, and health care providers managing minors' records.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill clarifies parental access to minor's health records while protecting minors' privacy in mental health services, supporting patient rights in healthcare.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

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died · Montana · House May 20, 2025

HB 199: Increase physician assistant membership on the board of medical examiners

HB 199 proposed to modify the composition of the Montana State Board of Medical Examiners. The bill aimed to reduce the number of doctor of medicine members on the board from five to four. Concurrently, it sought to increase the number of physician assistant members from one to two. This adjustment would directly affect the representation of these medical professionals on the 12-member board.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill increases PA representation on medical board, potentially enhancing provider roles in healthcare policy and access to services.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

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died · Montana · House May 20, 2025

HB 526: Adopt the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license compact

HB 526 proposes that the state join the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) compact. This initiative allows Advanced Practice Registered Nurses licensed in one member state to practice in other compact states without needing to obtain a separate license for each. The bill establishes a framework for uniform licensure requirements and facilitates the exchange of information between states for regulatory and enforcement purposes. Its aim is to streamline the licensing process for APRNs and enhance their ability to provide care across state lines, potentially increasing access to healthcare services.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareStreamlines APRN licensing across states, improving patient access to healthcare services by removing regulatory barriers.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

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died · Montana · House May 20, 2025

HB 828: Generally revise consumer rights laws to repair powered wheelchairs

HB 828, known as the "Powered Wheelchair Right to Repair Act," sought to revise consumer rights laws related to powered wheelchair repairs. The bill would have required original equipment manufacturers to provide powered wheelchair owners and independent repair businesses with access to documentation, parts, and tools needed for diagnosis, maintenance, and repair. These resources were to be made available on fair and reasonable terms, including free electronic documentation and tools, and parts at costs equivalent to those offered to authorized repair providers. Additionally, manufacturers would have been required to provide tools to access and reset electronic security locks for repair purposes. Violations of these provisions would have been considered an unlawful practice under state consumer protection laws.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill ensures access to essential medical devices by requiring repair accessibility, improving patient access to mobility services through consumer rights protections.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

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signed · Montana · House May 19, 2025

HB 888: Revise local board of health rules for isolation and quarantine

HB 888 revises the powers of local boards of health concerning isolation and quarantine orders. This bill prohibits local boards of health from requiring individuals to receive a vaccination or other medication as a condition for release from an isolation or quarantine order. It amends existing state law (Section 50-2-116, MCA) that outlines the duties of these boards. The legislation also includes an appropriation.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareProhibits mandatory vaccinations/meds during quarantine, protecting patient autonomy in health decisions per bill's core provision.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

signed · Montana · House May 19, 2025

HB 891: Provide subpoena powers to the office of inspector general

HB 891 grants the Office of Inspector General (OIG) within the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) new authority. This bill allows the OIG to issue subpoenas to compel the production of financial records, documents, and data. These subpoenas are specifically for investigations into waste, fraud, or abuse within health care services and public assistance programs administered by the DPHHS. The measure specifies that both the DPHHS director and the inspector general must sign these subpoenas. It also appropriates $5,000 to the DPHHS for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, to implement these provisions.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill grants OIG subpoena authority to investigate fraud/waste in healthcare programs, protecting public funds and strengthening program integrity within DPHHS services.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

signed · Montana · Senate May 19, 2025

SB 560: Provide for a hospital community benefit fee

SB 560 requires nonprofit hospitals to report their annual charity care and community benefit spending to the state. The bill mandates that a nonprofit hospital's total community benefit must exceed the amount of property taxes it would have paid if it were not tax-exempt. If a hospital's reported community benefit does not meet this threshold, a fee equal to the difference will be assessed. These collected fees are then deposited into a new Critical Access Health Care Special Revenue Account, which provides funding to critical access hospitals not affiliated with other hospitals.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesMandates fees from tax-exempt hospitals to fund critical health care access, creating new state revenue for public services while ensuring proportional community benefit.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill mandates hospital community benefits funding via fees, directing collected funds to Critical Access Health Care Special Revenue Account, directly increasing healthcare program funding.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

signed · Montana · Senate May 16, 2025

SB 535: Revise laws related to experimental treatments

SB 535 revises laws related to experimental treatments, primarily by requiring experimental treatment centers to obtain a license from the state department. These centers must adhere to operational standards and pay licensing fees. The bill also mandates that licensed centers allocate 2% of their net annual profits to support access to experimental treatments for qualifying Montana residents. This allocation can be fulfilled by providing free treatment or contributing to a new Insurance Premium Support Account. This account is established to help fund health insurance premiums for eligible Montana residents who purchase insurance on the federal marketplace and meet specific income criteria.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates 2% profit allocation for patient access to experimental treatments, directly expanding access and funding under healthcare services.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

signed · Montana · House May 8, 2025

HB 740: Revise laws relating to pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, and other entities

HB 740 revises laws affecting pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and other entities involved in prescription drug dispensing and reimbursement. The bill establishes new restrictions on how PBMs can audit pharmacies and recoup funds, such as prohibiting recoupment for clerical errors without actual financial harm and banning the use of extrapolation in calculations. It also updates regulations for Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC) lists and reference pricing, requiring PBMs to ensure drugs on MAC lists are available and to frequently update and disclose pricing information to pharmacies.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRestricts PBMs from unfair recoupment (e.g., clerical errors without harm) and mandates fair MAC/reference pricing, protecting pharmacies and improving patient access to medications.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

passed both · Montana · House May 6, 2025

HJ 35: Joint resolution urging changes to federal wildfire policy

HJ 35 is a joint resolution from the Montana Legislature urging federal officials to modify current federal land management and wildfire policies. It calls for an aggressive initial attack on wildfires across all federal lands and for federal forest roads to remain open for access and fire suppression. The resolution also recommends that EPA air quality standards include wildfire smoke and that federal "let it burn" policies be reversed, ensuring NEPA processes are followed. Finally, it advocates for increased involvement of state and local governments and stakeholder groups in federal fire management decisions to protect Montana's communities.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentAdvocates for EPA air quality standards including wildfire smoke and reversing 'let it burn' policies to protect natural resources and reduce pollution from wildfires.90% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill advocates including wildfire smoke in EPA air quality standards, a public health program, strengthening air quality measures affecting health.80% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationBill explicitly urges federal forest roads to remain open for fire suppression access, directly supporting transportation infrastructure maintenance and access.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Healthcare

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