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For Immediate Release:
October 25, 2023
Contact:
Grace Hoge
[email protected]
ICYMI: Lieutenant Governor Toland Talks
Medicaid Expansion, Workforce Benefits in Salina
KEY QUOTE: “Toland said that the issue of Medicaid expansion is one that needs to be addressed and resolved in Kansas for several reasons including moral, ethical and even economic reasons. "Forty states have now expanded Medicaid," Toland said. "Of the states that have...they have seen a reduction in absenteeism and an improvement in worker productivity.”
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Nearly 1,700 new jobs have been created in Saline County since 2019 and according to Lt. Gov. David Toland, even more could be added with one simple step—expanding Medicaid. That’s the message Toland wanted those who attended a roundtable discussion Wednesday in Salina to hear.
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"With Medicaid expansion, we could add another 400-plus healthcare-related jobs in this community," Toland said. "(That's) not to mention (we could) deal with the burden of uncompensated care that impacts so many institutions, not just in Saline County, but across the state."
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By expanding Medicaid coverage in Kansas, [Dr. Robert] Freelove [Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Salina Regional Health Center] said some of this [financial] burden could be alleviated. "Currently, as it is, (Salina Regional Health Center provides) millions of dollars of uncompensated care," Freelove said. "A significant portion of that uncompensated care are individuals who would most likely qualify for Medicaid through...expansion."
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Dr. Robert Moser, the executive director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health, said the burdens placed on rural hospitals across the state are a major reason to expand Medicaid coverage...” Any little bit of improvement, particularly (financial compensation for services) provided in our rural health systems, will go a long way.”
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[CEO of Vortex and member of the Salina Chamber of Commerce Travis] Young said he was encouraged to hear from the local medical community about how Medicaid expansion could have a positive impact on the Salina community. "If this can help (young families that Vortex and others are hiring), that's definitely something we can get behind," Young said.
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