Some supporters of Medicaid expansion say that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s rural health task force is little more than political cover. They say that in an election year, Republican lawmakers opposed to expansion need to be seen as doing something about the pressures faced by rural hospitals. One such hospital in southeast Kansas has already closed and other small community hospitals are in jeopardy of closing. But Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, the man appointed to lead the group, says the governor’s critics have it wrong. In an interview with Heartland Health Monitor’s Jim McLean, Colyer says the working group is a serious attempt to help rural providers overcome the issues that are threatening their survival.
That's Kansas Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, speaking with Heartland Health Monitor's Jim McLean.
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Jim McLean is a reporter for the KHI News Service and a contributor to Heartland Health Monitor, a consortium of news media outlets covering health issues in the Midwest.
