Healthcare

died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 523: Revise reimbursement for medicaid services

SB 523, introduced by Senator C. Pope, proposed requiring Medicaid contracts with non-physician providers (like clinics or therapists) to include annual cost-of-living adjustments tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' medical care CPI. This would have mandated that reimbursement rates for these providers increase each year by the same percentage as the medical care inflation rate, rather than relying on fixed formulas. The bill would have applied specifically to non-physician Medicaid service providers, aiming to keep their payments aligned with inflation. However, the bill "died in process" on May 23, 2025, and did not become law.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRequires annual Medicaid reimbursement increases tied to medical inflation, preventing real-term payment cuts for non-physician providers and maintaining access to care.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 136: Prohibit consent as a defense for physician assisted suicide

SB 136 amends Montana's criminal code (Section 45-2-211, MCA) to state that a patient's consent to physician aid in dying is not a defense to a homicide charge against the physician. The bill defines "physician aid in dying" as a physician prescribing a lethal medication for the patient to self-administer, excluding standard comfort care or withholding life-sustaining treatment. This directly affects physicians who provide such aid, making their actions prosecutable as homicide if consent is claimed as a defense. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, and does not impact existing practices of comfort care or end-of-life treatment under Montana law.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill removes consent as a defense for physician-assisted suicide, making it prosecutable as homicide under criminal code, expanding criminalization of medical practices.95% confidence ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareBill criminalizes physician-assisted suicide by removing consent as a defense, restricting access to a specific healthcare service under homicide laws.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 353: Revise right to try laws to include minors with a terminal illness

SB 353 would have expanded Montana's "right to try" law to allow minors with terminal illnesses access to investigational drugs, biological products, or devices. Currently, the law excluded minors from this pathway; this bill would permit eligibility if a minor's treating health care provider attests that the minor has a terminal illness. The bill did not change other existing requirements, such as exhausting approved treatments or obtaining written consent. This change would directly affect minors diagnosed with terminal illnesses seeking experimental treatments not yet approved by the FDA. (Note: The bill died in committee in May 2025 and was never enacted.)

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands access to investigational treatments for minors with terminal illness under right-to-try law, improving patient access to experimental therapies.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 140: Adopting the social work licensure compact

SB 140 would adopt Montana into the Social Work Licensure Compact, enabling social workers licensed in Montana (their "home state") to practice in other participating states without obtaining separate licenses. The bill creates a "multistate license" system, allowing licensed social workers to provide services across state lines while maintaining each state's authority to regulate practice and address disciplinary issues in the state where the client is located. This directly affects licensed social workers seeking to practice beyond Montana, particularly those serving military families or addressing workforce shortages in rural areas. The compact aims to reduce licensing barriers, improve access to social work services, and facilitate telehealth practice while preserving state-level regulatory oversight for public safety.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareEnables cross-state practice for social workers, improving access to mental health services and aligning with healthcare access goals per bill's multistate license system.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 216: Creating the Montana physicians' workforce investment act

SB 216 creates Montana's Physicians' Workforce Investment Act, establishing a task force to administer grants for health sector facilities (like hospitals) to launch or expand residency and fellowship programs. The grant program provides up to $2 million per facility to support new graduate medical education programs, requiring applicants to submit accreditation plans, 2-year financial projections, and 5-year sustainability strategies. This directly affects Montana hospitals seeking to train medical graduates (those with medical degrees but without residency completion) and aims to address physician shortages by increasing training opportunities. The task force must report annually on grant usage, program locations, specialty fields, and accreditation status to the legislature.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareFunds $2M grants for hospitals to expand medical residency programs, directly strengthening physician workforce development and healthcare access in Montana.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 478: Require higher education institutions to pay medical costs associated with mandated COVID–19 vaccinations

SB 478 would require Montana's public universities to cover medical costs for students who develop specific vaccine-related health conditions after receiving mandated COVID-19 vaccinations. Students would need to submit proof of vaccination (to comply with school attendance rules), a medical diagnosis of one of five listed conditions (like heart inflammation or blood clotting disorders), and cost records to their institution for reimbursement. The bill covers diagnosis, treatment, and lost wages related to those conditions, as defined by the Board of Regents. The bill died in committee in May 2025 and did not become law.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareReimburses medical costs for vaccine-related health conditions, expanding coverage for treatment and lost wages under mandated vaccinations.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 334: Providing medicaid expansion to able-bodied adults who comply with community engagement requirements

SB 334 would have expanded Montana Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied adults under 65 with incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level, but only if they met community engagement requirements. Key provisions include mandating participation in workforce development programs (like job training in healthcare or cybersecurity) and requiring the state to seek federal waiver approval by December 2025. The bill also included measures like biannual eligibility reviews and lifetime benefit limits for this group. However, the bill died in process on May 23, 2025, after failing to advance beyond committee review.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults with community engagement requirements, directly advancing health coverage access.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 474: Require acceptance of religious and personal medical exemptions to required immunizations

SB 474 would have expanded school immunization exemptions in Montana to include religious exemptions and a new "personal medical informed consent" exemption requiring only a notarized statement. This new exemption would allow students to decline vaccines after consulting a healthcare provider (without needing a provider's signature), distinct from the existing medical exemption requiring a healthcare provider's written statement. The bill also amended school immunization laws (20-5-405 and 49-2-312) to prevent schools from being sued for injuries related to exempt students and to block overly burdensome exemption forms. The bill died in committee on May 23, 2025, and never became law.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareExpands vaccine exemptions, weakening school immunization requirements and public health protections by replacing medical exemption standards with less stringent notarized consent.92% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 469: Generally revise laws related to service area authorities

SB 469 would revise Montana's mental health service structure by updating rules for local "service area authorities" that manage community mental health programs. It requires the state Department of Mental Health to provide each service area authority with an annual contract covering administrative costs, crisis services, and community events, while also supporting at least three such authorities. The bill mandates that service area boards be led by majority consumer/family members, establishes new reporting requirements, and removes unfunded mandates requiring local governments to cover costs without state funding. This directly affects local mental health providers, county governments, and communities receiving mental health services across Montana.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill mandates state funding for mental health service areas via annual contracts covering crisis services and community events, strengthening mental health infrastructure and requiring consumer-led boards.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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died · Montana · Senate May 23, 2025

SB 513: Increase capacity in the family education and support services program

SB 513 requires Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services to expand the Family Education and Support Services Program by July 1, 2026, to serve all qualified families applying to the program - matching the FY2016 service level. The bill mandates annual reports to the legislature detailing program benefits, how families prepare for future healthcare programs, and comparisons between served and unserved families. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and terminates June 30, 2027. This bill directly affects families applying to the program and the state agency administering it.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands family support program to prepare families for healthcare programs, with mandated reporting on healthcare preparation pathways. Subjects include Health Care Services.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Healthcare

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