rural health

In rural Medicine Lodge, Kansas, Sarrah and Kyle Miller were sued last month by their local medical clinic for $230 in unpaid medical expenses. Their story is part of a new pattern. Kansas hospitals have filed thousands of lawsuits against their rural patients in recent years, including many for less than $500.

There have been thousands of lawsuits by Kansas hospitals in recent years, including many lawsuits for less than $500. One lawsuit was for just $104.

Missouri leaders applied Wednesday to the $50 billion federal grant initiative, which Congress included in the spending package known as "One Big Beautiful Bill." Other cuts in the bill are expected to devastate struggling rural health systems.

Kansas has more rural hospitals at risk of closure than any other state. Changes at the federal level are further complicating the situation, leaving hospital officials planning for the future.

Health care leaders worry rural hospitals could be hit hard by Medicaid spending reductions in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." In the Midwest and Great Plains, Oklahoma and Kansas could face the highest risk of hospital closures and service reductions.

In western Kansas, rural hospitals have been closing or are perpetually understaffed, leaving residents to drive anywhere from an hour to multiple hours for doctors appointments. Plus: Scientists are working on a new framework that factors climate trends into how we think about drought.

President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts about $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley helped push for the inclusion of money for rural hospitals, but experts say it's just "a drop in the bucket" — and could force even more providers to close.

Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said he made changes to the Senate’s version of the Trump administration's reconciliation bill to soften the blow of Medicaid cuts on Kansas hospitals. But health care advocates say it won’t be enough.

The Republican megabill cuts trillions in taxes, while scaling back spending on Medicaid and other federal programs. It now heads to the House, where some GOP lawmakers are signaling major objections.

When lawmakers return to Jefferson City in June to debate Gov. Kehoe's plan to finance stadium projects for the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City, more than 60 groups slated for funding want him to revisit spending for items spiked in the Missouri House.

Federal lawmakers are considering big cuts to the health care program Medicaid. Some Kansans fear they’ll lose coverage or benefits.

The federal spending cuts proposed by the Republican-controlled Congress could lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost across Missouri and Kansas health care systems and food suppliers, a new study found.