WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Sept. 14 announced nearly $17 million in federal investment for rural Kansas health care providers to adopt emerging technologies and improve patient transportation between facilities.
The transportation component specifically targets the challenge of moving rural patients to specialty and behavioral health care that is often located far from their communities, CMS said. The technology adoption component will support rural hospitals and clinics in deploying health information technology, telehealth infrastructure and digital health tools.
Rural Kansas presents some of the most extreme health care access challenges in the nation. Long distances between communities, sparse populations, chronic provider shortages and a wave of rural hospital closures have created care deserts where residents must travel hours to reach basic medical services.
The $17 million investment addresses two of the most persistent structural barriers to rural health access simultaneously: the lack of modern health technology in rural facilities and the inability of patients to physically reach the care they need, the agency said.
Rural hospital closures have accelerated nationwide in recent years. Since 2010, more than 150 rural hospitals have closed across the country, according to data from the Chartis Center for Rural Health, leaving millions of Americans without nearby emergency or inpatient care.
The investment is part of a broader CMS rural health strategy being deployed in multiple states. A separate announcement detailed a similar rural health investment in North Carolina focused on school-based care.