MDNews - Greater Kansas

status as critical access rural hospitals under designations by Medicare and Medicaid that allow the facilities to claim substantially higher reimbursements for the lab work than the other labs should be able to claim. ASCENSION VIA CHRISTI TO OPERATE FORT SCOTT ER Ascension Via Christi has an agreement to operate Fort Scott's former emergency room, diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, as soon as it receives regulatory approval, according to an Ascension Via Christi release in late January. Under the agreement, Ascension Via Christi will lease about 16,000 square feet of clinical space from Mercy, with Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg managing emergency and outpatient services. Mercy announced in October it was closing its hos - pital in Fort Scott by the end of 2018, but that it planned to pursue opportunities to transfer certain services to other area providers. It transitioned its clinic operations in Fort Scott, Pleasanton and Arma to Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas on Jan. 1. STUDY DROPS KANSAS IN HEALTH RANKING Kansas has dropped to 27th in a compre- hensive health ranking of all 50 states in a long-running report by the United Health Foundation. In the previous America's Health Rankings, Kansas had been 25th. The state ranks 31st for senior health and 25th for the health of women and children. Kansas' neighbors were overall ranked as eight, Colorado; 38, Missouri; 15, Nebraska; and 47, Oklahoma. The 2018 study says Kansas' strengths were low drug death rate, low prevalence of low birthweight and low prevalence of frequent mental distress. The state's challenges are high prevalence of physical inactivity, low per capita public health fund - ing and low meningococcal immunization among adolescents. The report, which has been conducted for 29 years, analyzed a comprehensive set of behaviors, community and environmen - tal conditions, policies, clinical care, and outcomes data to provide a holistic view of the nation's health, according to a news re - lease. The report looks at 35 core measures across these categories. More information is available at americashealthrankings.org. ASCENSION VIA CHRISTI STRUCTURAL HEART PROGRAM IS IN SECOND ABBOTT STUDY Already selected as the first U.S. site to par- ticipate in Abbott's pivotal clinical study of its Tendyne system, the structural heart program at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis is now participating in a separate feasibility study of the Tendyne system to treat another condition. Since July 2018, the structural heart program has been evaluating the safety and efficacy of Abbott's first-of-its-kind Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve replacement, or TMVR, system for the treatment of mitral regurgitation, also known as leaky heart valve. The investigational device is the first and only mitral valve replacement that can be repositioned and fully retrieved, allow - ing the surgeon to precisely place the device during implantation, which could improve patient outcomes. In the second study, the system is used to treat patients with severe mitral annular calci - fication, or MAC, a condition in which calcium accumulates along and beneath the mitral valve annulus that separates the top and bot - tom chambers of the left side of the heart. KHA SHARES CONCERNS WITH GOV. KELLY In an open-letter op ed sent to new Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association shared some concerns about health care in Kansas. The letter signed by Tom Bell cited such issues as improving the behavioral health continuum in Kansas, as well as supporting rural health care, specifically noting the recent closure in Fort Scott and that innovative healthcare delivery models should be looked at. The letter called improving the KanCare program "another significant legisla - tive priority." "Impending transitions with the Medicaid managed care organizations are creating new obstacles and increasing confusion about the program. KanCare providers and beneficiaries deserve an effective Medicaid program that is devoid of bureaucratic hurdles," the letter says. Bell also noted Kansas' slide in America's Health Ranking, going from being ranked in the top 10 in the 1990s to 27th in 2018. KHI LOOKS AT 5 YEARS OF HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE STATS In an issue brief, the Kansas Health Institute looked at some of the changes in the first five open enrollment periods (OEPs) from 2014–2018 of the health insurance marketplace. It also looked at the plans and premiums available to Kansans for 2019, noting that the OEP for 2019 was 45 days, the same as for 2018 but far shorter than the more than six months for the first plan year of 2014. Key points in the brief included: • Premiums for a benchmark plan rose 145.6 percent between plan years 2014 and 2019. • The number of plans went from 67 offered by four companies in plan year 2014 to 23 of - fered by three companies for plan year 2019, with all plans being HMOs or EPOs with limited provider networks. • Kansans have selected gold plans more often than the national average in all plans years. • The number of Kansas who selected a marketplace plan peaked at 101,555 in plan year 2016 and has remained above 98,000 for the past two years. For the full brief, visit khi.org. FOUR KANSAS HOSPITALS EARN BLUE DISTINCTION DESIGNATIONS Four contracting Kansas hospitals have earned Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care designations from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. Stormont Vail Health, Topeka, is designated as a Blue Distinction Center for delivering quality cardiac care. Hays Medical Center, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center and Wesley Medical Center in Wichita are designated as Blue Distinction Center+, meaning the hospitals met both qual - ity measures and cost efficiency standards. The designations are based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations, according to a news release. Designated hospitals have shown ex - pertise in safe, effective cardiac care, focus- ing on cardiac valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft and percutaneous coronary interventions episodes of care. n 1 8 1 8❱❱❱❱❱ H O S P I T A L R O U N D S

• Cover