MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran says a new $222 million infusion of federal funding will provide critical relief for Kansas hospitals and help keep rural communities viable across the state.
During a recent interview, Moran discussed visits to hospitals in Russell and Belleville, where administrators echoed what he has heard statewide: Kansas hospitals are financially fragile, and the new funding arrives at a pivotal moment.
The dollars come through the Rural Health Transformation Act, included in the federal reconciliation package addressing Medicaid policy. Moran said lawmakers were concerned that changes to Medicaid reimbursement could further strain already vulnerable rural hospitals.
“I don’t think there’s a hospital in Kansas that’s not fragile,” Moran said. “The finances of our health care system are fragile as well. We were looking for ways to make certain that hospitals in our state did not suffer significant consequences financially.”
Moran said he advocated strongly for the program and pushed to ensure it did not require a state match — a key provision, he noted, that allows Kansas to fully access the funds. The state is expected to receive $222 million this year, with similar amounts projected annually for the next five years.
Those resources, Moran said, should help keep hospital doors open across Kansas, though he cautioned the funding will not make hospitals flush with cash.
“No hospital is going to be swimming in money,” he said. “But it’s certainly going to make staying in business and keeping the doors open a bit easier.”
Moran emphasized that health care access and agriculture are inseparable pillars of rural Kansas. Without hospitals, he said, communities risk losing pharmacies, businesses, and families.
“If our hospital doors close, there’s no pharmacy on Main Street,” Moran said. “Young families won’t take the chance of raising their kids where there’s not access to health care, and senior citizens are often told they need to move where there’s a doctor and a hospital.”
He pointed to western Kansas communities where struggling farm economies combined with hospital closures could accelerate population decline.
“Often the hospital is the largest employer in a small town,” Moran said. “So the consequences ripple through the entire community.”
Moran said preserving rural hospitals and supporting a strong farm economy have long been central to his work in Washington, dating back to conversations he has had with Kansas broadcasters and constituents over many years.
“A significant component of why I asked for this job was to fight to keep rural Kansas — rural America — alive and well,” Moran said. “At the top of the list is access to health care and a successful farm economy. Those two things determine whether towns like my hometown of Plainville, and communities across Kansas, have a future.”
Moran said he will continue working to ensure the funding produces the intended results and helps strengthen rural Kansas in the years ahead.
“We want to grow Kansas and make sure the entire state has a bright future,” he said. “These two topics — health care and agriculture — really help determine whether that happens.”