Kansas has seen eight hospitals close since 2015. Now more than 90 hospitals in the Sunflower State are at risk of immediate risk of closing. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment says 703 hospitals are at risk across the nation. Kansas makes up 8% of the nation’s at-risk rural hospitals and 8% of those at immediate risk. They say losses in patient services, insufficient revenue and low financial reserves as factors contributing to hospital closures. Many hospitals have managed to remain open despite losses on patient services because they receive local tax revenues or state government grants. However, there is no guarantee that these funds will continue to be available in the future or that they will be sufficient to cover higher costs.
In total, 84% of rural hospitals in Kansas are operating at a median loss with 84 hospitals impacted. There are 62 rural hospitals at risk of closing in Kansas and 31 hospitals at immediate risk of closure, impacting 32% of rural hospitals in Kansas, according to the report. In 2023, Governor Laura Kelly said there was one simple way to save the rural hospitals…expand Medicaid.
