Rural hospitals across the State of Kansas are set to receive additional funding following the announcement by Governor Laura Kelly of the approval of Kansas’ Health Care Access Improvement Program  or H-C-A-I-P preprint by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  or C-M-S.

 

The approved plan allows Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) to receive higher Medicaid payments through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, bringing an estimated $83 million to these health care facilities.

 

Governor Kelly called the move an opportunity to ensure critical funding is allocated to areas where it is most needed: To rural hospitals and to providers serving Medicaid patients across the state.

 

H-C-A-I-P was created in 2005 to help improve access to health care by using a provider assessment and reimbursement program. State law requires certain hospitals to pay an annual assessment on specific services, with those funds used to increase Medicaid payments and expand access to care for low-income Kansans.