The main recommendations from the report, which was commissioned by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, include raising Medicaid rates and adding more reimbursable mental healthcare to encourage more areas of the state to offer crisis services.
Montana lawmakers are currently pushing two bills that would use marijuana tax dollars to pay for crisis beds and raise Medicaid rates. The health and human services department is also pursuing Medicaid reimbursement for mobile crisis response teams, which it hopes to secure by July.
Additionally, the department is involved in a federal pilot program for 24/7 mental health clinics.
The state will find out if it will receive a federal grant for its crisis program later in March.
