How Montana lawmakers want to reshape health care

HELENA -- With the future of health care on the federal level still unclear, Republican lawmakers in Helena are pushing legislation that could reshape how Montanans access and pay for medical services.

Three bills -- House Bill 266, and Senate Bills 100 and 362 -- operate under the philosophy that individual states should be able to determine what health care practices are best suited for their residents, and that costs should be lowered.

"Finally a handful of legislators on both sides of the aisle are starting to target what we view as the real issue - the cost of care," said Brent Mead,...