Oh look...here's another article about mask and vaccine mandates that doesn't mention either one. "Montana hospitals facing unprecedented financial crisis" was the headline on The Billings Gazette website when I checked it Sunday morning.

The article talks about the federal government's very bad track record for reimbursing hospitals, inflation, staffing shortages, and more. But yet again- no mention of the very mask and vaccine mandates that we have been warning would lead to the shutdown of healthcare facilities here in Montana.

A couple weeks ago we told you about a story reporting that seven nursing homes in Montana would be shutting down. While "staffing shortages" were mentioned in the stories about the closures, the mask and vaccine mandates were not mentioned.

Last November when I caught up with Montana's Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R-MT) he was hearing the same concerns I was. Rural healthcare providers, especially in Eastern Montana, were worried that forcing a COVID vaccine would lead to a mass exodus of employees. Click here for our back-and-forth from November 19th, 2021.

Here's something that stood out to me in this latest piece about the hospital crisis by the Lee Newspapers:

At Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, as 80% of the revenue comes from government payers, there is little ability to adjust prices, said Chief Operating Officer Kirk Bodlovic.

This is something that the Montana Legislature and the Governor will certainly notice. For too long, our helathcare providers have become too reliant on the federal government. Now, federal government mandates and an over-reliance on federal dollars have created the perfect storm for healthcare in Montana.

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