Eric Whitney
Eric Whitney is NPR's Mountain West/Great Plains Bureau Chief, and was the former news director for Montana Public Radio.
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Unlike postcard mountain resort towns, or Denver's booming, high-tech corridor, Pueblo is Colorado's faded industrial relic. But it's finding ways to grow into its next chapter. -
If a funding extension can't be hammered out in the Montana Legislature, the state could be the first to undo an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
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If the state's ballot initiative to fund Medicaid's expansion passes, it will mean a $2-per-pack increase in taxes on cigarettes and a new tax on electronic cigarettes.
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President Trump first nominee to lead the Indian Health Service is out of the picture. Montana's senators are urging the administration to name a new nominee quickly.
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About a quarter of Native Americans report experiencing discrimination in health care, according to a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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Montana's three main health insurance firms say the Republican Senate's proposed cuts to Medicaid, and any plan to repeal the individual mandate, could drive up health costs for everyone.
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Health care is on the minds of many potential voters in Montana, but the House health bill itself is unlikely to sway entrenched Republican voters in the special election next week.
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Democrats hope a singing cowboy in Montana will become their party's latest candidate to mobilize enthusiasm and money against Republicans in a special election for the state's only U.S. House seat.
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The Veterans Choice program was supposed to make it quicker and easier for vets to see a doctor by paying for private-sector care. But it's ended up being slower and more complicated.
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Yellowstone National Park is often overwhelmed by cars. But right now, only bicycles are allowed on some popular park roads. But bikers have to be ready to dodge bears, wolves and other wildlife.
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Many Native Americans have shifted to the Affordable Care Act for health coverage, and in rural Montana that's created jobs. The state could lose 3,000 health care jobs if the ACA is repealed.
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Interior Secretary nominee Ryan Zinke's confirmation hearing is scheduled for this week. Energy developers and tribal leaders are cheering. But environmentalists are wary of the Montana congressman.
