Feds to cut funding to troubled Montana psychiatric hospital

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Federal officials say they'll no longer pay for services at Montana's state psychiatric hospital following staffing shortages and other problems that were blamed in patient deaths and a violent assault last month involving two unsupervised patients.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified Montana State Hospital administrator Kyle Fouts that after Tuesday it will end Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for all new patients admitted to the facility in Warm Springs. Payments for services to patients admitted prior to Tuesday will continue for 30 days.

State and federal officials could not immediately provide details on how much money the psychiatric hospital receives. The hospital is overseen by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Four patients died from October through February, three because of COVID-19 and another after frequent falls.

Another patient died in August 2021 after staff ignored her complaints that she couldn't catch her breath. CMS found hospital officials did not properly investigate her death, and later notified the state that it was at risk of losing federal payments.

Federal investigators returned last month following an assault that left a female patient with severe injuries.

The move to end reimbursements was first reported by the Montana State News Bureau.

The hospital had about 142 patients as of early April.