ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Rural health centers in Kansas are incredibly important and recently, some action was taken to help them.
Last Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced the state is taking steps to develop an application for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The Rural Health Transformation Program is part of H.R. 1, which enacted significant funding and coverage cuts to the Medicaid program that will threaten the viability of rural hospitals across the state that were already at risk of closing, according to a release from the State of Kansas.
“We are committed to ensuring rural Kansans have access to high-quality, affordable health care near their homes,” Go. Kelly noted in the release. “As a state with one of the highest rates of struggling rural hospitals in the nation, this funding through the RHTP is essential. Though the funds will not make up for the federal cuts to the Medicaid program, these resources will allow the state to make fundamental changes to the rural health care system to protect rural Kansans’ access to health care near their homes. The RHTP is intended to infuse millions of dollars into states’ health care systems and to bolster rural communities by improving the access and quality of care available to Kansans.”
Of the $50 billion RHTP, $25 billion will be distributed evenly to states whose applications are approved, and the other half will be dispersed based on factors outlined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the application released Sep. 15. Kansas must submit one application for this funding, which will be distributed over the next five years, by Nov. 5. CMS will then announce the funding awards by Dec. 31.
Other leaders also praised the work.
“I look forward to partnering with the Care Collaborative Team and our state interagency task force,” Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Janet Stanek noted in the State of Kansas release. “This collaboration will help to ensure a strategic approach to this five-year funding opportunity.”
“We look forward to working with the Alliance,” Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard noted in the State of Kansas release. “Their ideas will ensure Kansas’ proposal meets the needs of rural Kansans and providers.”
The University of Kansas Health System Care Collaborative is a well-established network of rural health care providers focused on researching and implementing evidence-based methods to improve Kansans’ health outcomes. Their assistance will enable the state to submit a successful application that secures funding to sustain our rural health care delivery system.
To learn more about the Rural Health Transformation Program, people can visit https://www.cms.gov/priorities/rural-health-transformation-rht-program/overview.
