Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is using the recent, sudden closure of a hospital near the KVOE listening area to bolster her longstanding push for the state to expand Medicaid.
Herington Hospital, in operation since 1919, announced its closure suddenly last week, citing “lengthy financial struggles and consistently low patient volumes” for its demise. Services ended Monday.
Kansas is the 10th state not to expand Medicaid. Governor Kelly says Herington becomes the eighth hospital in Kansas to close since the option of expanding Medicaid became available, and she says over half the state’s rural hospitals are at risk of closure if Medicaid is not expanded to another 40,000 to 50,000 residents soon.
Conservative Republicans in the Legislature have said they support expanding medical access to residents through reducing government regulation, expanding competition and increasing transparency, but they also say expanding Medicaid would increase “government-run” health care, according to Senate President Ty Masterson — who says the expansion would harm people Medicaid is intended to help.
