Topeka Capital-Journal: New federal legislation seeks to save rural hospitals in Kansas

New federal legislation seeks to save rural hospitals in Kansas
The Topeka Capital-Journal
By: Stacey Saldanha-Olson<_u53a_p>
July 31, 2026

Rural hospitals in Kansas could soon have expanded resources and be less at risk of closing.

On July 29, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, introduced the Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act, also dubbed REH 2.0.

The bill would allow more Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals at risk of closure to sustain health care services in rural communities, and it would make technical improvements to the designation.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran's expanded efforts to improve rural Kansas hospitals

Along with REH 2.0, Moran has spent the last year working at the federal level to get Kansas rural hospitals more Medicaid reimbursements.

Now his multi-tiered efforts can work in tandem to improve rural hospitals viability.

"I have visited every hospital in Kansas numerous times, and these conversations help guide my efforts to make certain health care providers across our state have the support they need to provide critical services to patients in their communities," said Moran in a written statement. "During these visits, providers shared with me their recommendations for strengthening the Rural Emergency Hospital designation so it can better support the struggling facilities it was originally intended to serve.

"The legislation I am introducing with Senator Tina Smith is the direct result of what we have heard from rural hospitals and health care providers in our states, and it makes needed improvements to the program to help make certain patients can continue to access critical health care services in their communities for years to come."

Kansas rural hospital leaders thank U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran for his work

Joel Phelps, Salina Regional Health Center CEO, said the bill would allow more hospitals across the state to stay open, offering closer options for patients in need.

"What this bill is going to allow rural hospitals to do is I believe provide more of an opportunity to take care of patients closer to home," Phelps said. "It's no secret they do better when they're closer to home."

Phelps also told The Capital-Journal it would have a positive impact on other non-rural hospitals by preventing overcrowding of patients. He thanked Moran for working to help rural hospitals.

"We appreciate Senator Moran's continued leadership on behalf of rural healthcare in Kansas," Phelps said. "He's really continued to step up."

Read the full story from the Topeka Capital-Journal here.