Newman Regional Health is staring at significant cuts in its Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law late last week by President Donald Trump.
On KVOE’s Morning Show Newsmaker 2 segment Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Holly French said the full impact of the cuts hasn’t been determined, but the dollar amount is becoming somewhat clear. And it’s sobering.
Under the current Medicaid reimbursement model, French says hospitals can expect a 65-cent reimbursement of every dollar spent to provide medical care.
French tells KVOE News the cuts will start smaller but will likely increase to $1.8 million over the next eight years under the current structure. Cuts could also be close to $2 million in 2034. These levels of budget cuts could well cause a change in patient behavior towards the more expensive.
The current schedule has cuts developing after the 2026 elections, although Second District Congressman Derek Schmidt is hoping changes can be made before then. There is a $50 billion pool now available to help states over the next five years, and Newman Regional Health Chief Executive Officer Cathy Pimple says Kansas will likely apply for at least some of those funds. She says it will be important for the state to advocate for healthcare as things go forward. In the short term, Pimple says the hospital’s Executive Leadership Team is already looking at potential impacts to the current-year budget as well as what may happen in the future.
The sharp cuts likely coming to hospitals are ahead as Newman Regional Health continues its collaborative work with University of Kansas Health System and LMH Health after a partnership was finalized several months ago. Pimple says similar work is underway between Newman Regional Health and nearby hospitals like Coffey Health System, Greenwood County Hospital and Morris County Hospitals. She says those partnerships, including Stormont Vail as the Topeka hospital plans to move to a new facility in the coming years, “matters more now than ever.”
Pimple says shared services is the vision for keeping rural health viable. On the rural health topic, Executive Director for Strategic Partnerships Steven Bazan says it’s important to view healthcare through the eyes of individual patients — especially those who may not be able to afford care.
Bazan says this situation is challenging, but it opens new, maybe nontraditional opportunities for collaboration.
The full interview is in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
