Montana explores strategies to address provider shortages

Many rural areas experience a shortage of medical providers, and KFF Health News reported that "more than one-fourth of the state's [Montana] residents live in an area with a shortage of primary care health professionals." The article lists some of the ways that the state legislature is considering to address that shortage. One pending bill, for example, would recognize licenses issued in other states for physician assistants and some others. Another bill would let physician assistants be considered "treating physicians" for the purposes of workers' compensation.

The shortage of medical professionals is a challenge that the nation will increasingly face, and it will be interesting to see how various institutions try to meet that challenge. Some solutions (such as recognizing licenses from other states) might work at the state or regional level, but more comprehensive solutions would likely be necessary at the national level.