Montana committee hears divided testimony on bill to let chiropractors prescribe limited drugs and expand Medicaid coverage

Representative Greg Oblander opened the House Business and Labor Committee hearing on House Bill 500, describing the proposal as a “chiropractic license endorsement for prescriptive authority” and a change to Medicaid coverage. “This is totally 100% optional,” Oblander said, describing the prescriptive endorsement as an add‑on license and stressing that chiropractors would not be required to prescribe drugs.

Proponents — mostly chiropractors practicing across Montana — said the bill would let properly trained chiropractors treat acute musculoskeletal conditions faster in rural communities and keep patients out of emergency departments. Dr. Sheridan Jones, president of the Montana Chiropractic Association, said patients sometimes arrive in such pain that “the modalities I am currently able to offer failed in providing relief” and that a short…