Protecting health care providers and patients
Our frontline workers deserve freedom of conscience while helping Montanans. House Republicans passed major legislation to protect the freedom of health care providers this session.
House Bill 706 will allow health care professionals to share information about off-label uses of medication and to practice innovative medicine, with certain guardrails. Direct quote from HB 706, “A health care provider may: make a patient aware of or educate or advise a patient about lawful health care services for which a reasonable basis exists, including the off-label use of health care services.”
Informing the patient and removing third-party litigation threats against medical providers will produce better quality of care for every Montanan. Why would any elected legislator vote against allowing the education of you, the patient, as to the details of your health care? Yet, one party fully supported your ability to know about your health care, and one party opposed.
Also, this last session House Bill 303 was passed that implements the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act. This law protects medical professionals, institutions, and payers from discrimination, punishment or retaliation for exercising their freedom of conscience. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists should not be compelled to provide services they find immoral. HB 303 is procedure based, not person based, allowing patients to have an honest relationship with their provider. No one wants care from a medical professional that is forced to operate without a conscience.
Montana House Republicans also passed: HB 101 that allows for reciprocity for out-of-state practitioners, giving the patient more options for health care providers. HB 313 that allows a physician assistant a path forward to operate independently, giving a less costly option in some cases.
HB 311 allows for part of our state special fund to be used for a chemical dependency treatment voucher. This is one small solution to fight back against the catastrophic effect of the Montana drug epidemic.
These bills, along with many more, make up a large shift in Montana health care back to the patient having more options at a lower cost and with less government interference.
Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, is the speaker of the Montana House of Representatives; Rhonda Knudsen, R-Culbertson, is the speaker pro tempore of the Montana House of Representatives; Sue Vinton, R-Billings, is the majority leader of the Montana House of Representatives.