Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services graphic.
Kansas is getting over $220 million in federal funds as part of an initiative to bolster healthcare options in rural settings.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is providing states with a total pot of $50 billion as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts package and the One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill passed earlier this summer, of which Kansas is getting just under $222 million — the sixth-largest award in the five-year program. The goal is to expand access, improve health outcomes and strengthen rural health systems by expanding prevention programs, strengthening local access to care, protecting “value-based care,” collecting data and fostering viable rural health employment options.
Grant recipients in Kansas have not been announced. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is overseeing grant operations in cooperation with the Rural Health Alliance and other unnamed stakeholders.
Officials at the state and federal levels are understandably pleased with the announcement. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says “this funding for Kansas will go a long way in fundamentally changing the health care delivery system for rural communities across the state.” US Senator Roger Marshall says the funding “will help keep hospitals open, recruit and retain providers, expand access to specialty care, and modernize critical infrastructure.” US Senator Jerry Moran says the program “is a significant investment in rural health care and will help improve outcomes for struggling hospitals, invest in new technology and bolster rural communities.”
*Click here for the Rural Health Transformation information page through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
*Click here for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s information page.