U.S. Senator Steve Daines today secured important healthcare resources for Montanans to improve the quality and reliability of services.

 

“Montanans deserve reliable access to quality healthcare services close to home,” Daines stated. “Through my efforts, our health care providers will be able to better serve rural communities across our state and country.”

 

The Senate Committee on Appropriations today passed the bipartisan FY2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Bill.

 

Daines secured the following resources for Montana:

 

Air Ambulance: Secured language to require the Government Accountability Office to author a report about the costs and coverage related to air ambulance services. This will help get to the root of the problem with high costs for patients from utilizing air ambulance services which are not covered by their health insurance policy.

 

Rural Health Care: Funded at $152.6 million. The obstacles faced by patients and providers in rural communities are unique and often significantly different than those in urban areas.  Therefore, the bill focuses resources toward efforts and programs to help rural communities, such as telehealth.

• Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant: Secured continuing funding for Critical Access Hospitals. There are 47 critical access hospitals in Montana that provide frontline care to Montanans.

 

Community Health Centers: Secured continuing funding for community health centers to support access to health care in local communities so that Montanans can receive care close to home.

• This past year Daines announced the following Community Health Centers received grants:
  • Cascade City – County Health Department received $1,494,954.00
  • Glacier Community Health Center, Inc. received $1,623,630.00 
  • Lincoln County Community Health Center received $1,508,655.00
  • Montana Migrant Council, Inc. received $1,884,532.00
  • County of Lewis and Clark received $1,777,285.00
  •  Butte Community Health Center received $1,819,143.00 
  • RiverStone Health Center in Yellowstone County received $3,925,417.00

 

Mental Health: The bill provides $541.5 million for the Mental Health Block Grant and continues the set-aside for serious mental illness activities at 10 percent.  The Block Grants represent the primary sources of mental health funding for state programs. The bill also provides $50 million within the funding for Community Health Centers to provide mental health services at health centers across the country.

 

Special Olympics: Secured more than $2 million in additional funding, Special Olympics Project UNIFY and related education and sports based programs help improve opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities in communities across the United States. These programs, in particular, have been critical to help start impactful special education programs in schools on Montana reservations.