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.
SB 62 would end Montana's Medicaid expansion program for able-bodied adults by prohibiting new enrollments after August 31, 2025, while requiring the Department of Public Health and Human Services to seek a federal waiver to maintain funding for current participants. The bill directly affects individuals enrolled in Montana's Medicaid expansion program who are able-bodied adults, preventing them from joining after the 2025 deadline. Key mechanisms include a strict enrollment cutoff date, a requirement for the department to apply for federal funding continuity, and authorization to implement program integrity measures like biannual eligibility reviews. The bill does not change coverage for individuals with specific health needs or those already enrolled continuously before September 1, 2025.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SB 295 would restore Montana injured workers' right to choose their own treating physician for initial treatment and ongoing care under workers' compensation, without being forced to use a managed care organization (MCO) or preferred provider organization (PPO) without consent. The bill requires insurers to allow workers to select a physician from a designated list for initial treatment and to change physicians with the insurer's approval (with mediation available if approval is denied). It also mandates that insurers provide individual written notice (not workplace postings) before referring workers to an MCO or PPO. This directly affects injured workers seeking medical treatment for work-related injuries in Montana, giving them more control over their healthcare decisions.
SB 164 amends Montana's endangering the welfare of children law to prohibit specific medical treatments for children under 16. The bill bans surgical procedures, puberty blockers, and hormone therapies (like estrogen or testosterone) when used to alter a child's appearance or affirm a gender identity inconsistent with their biological sex. Violating this prohibition is classified as a felony, carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, with harsher penalties if the child suffers serious injury. The law would take effect on January 1, 2026, directly affecting medical providers, caregivers, and children under 16 who might receive these treatments.
SB 554 (Montana) limits nonprofit hospitals (excluding critical access/rural emergency hospitals) to charging no more than 300% of the Medicare reimbursement rate for Medicare-eligible services. Hospitals exceeding this rate face an escalating excise tax (starting at 25% in 2027 and rising to 50% after 2030) and risk losing nonprofit status. The bill also requires hospitals to maintain written financial assistance and community benefit policies, submit annual reports including IRS Form 990, and comply with new reporting rules. This bill died in process in May 2025 and was never enacted.
SB 563 would create a temporary "provisional resident license" for recent medical school graduates in Montana who have passed initial licensing exams but haven't yet secured a residency position. This license allows them to provide supervised patient care under a licensed physician's direct oversight through a formal collaborative agreement, with a maximum duration of two years total. The bill directly affects new physicians seeking their first clinical roles while awaiting residency placements. It amends Montana's medical licensing laws to establish specific qualifications, fees, and supervision requirements for this temporary license.
