(Oct. 13, 2023) – For the past two weeks, Kansas Hospital Association staff have traveled the state for the fall district meetings. The meetings serve as an opportunity for Kansas hospital leaders to share ideas and discuss the issues most pressing to our industry. The district meetings are an opportunity to learn from each other and share our experiences.
The district meetings included a discussion surrounding the recent public opinion poll and plans to work on a public perception campaign. Members weighed in on message concepts that will be tested with our target audiences. We plan to have campaign resources available to members later this year.
We also had a lengthy discussion on payor and finance issues, discussing topics from the Medicaid request for proposal and centralized credentialing to Medicare Advantage and the All-Payor Scorecard. KHA has created numerous resources to assist our members in this area, which are available online. We also discussed workforce recruitment, retention and the resources available for members.
Members had the chance to learn the latest on KHA's advocacy efforts on the state and federal levels. Much of the recent activities focused on the federal level, as Congress continues to wrestle with approving a federal budget and other policy initiatives. On the state level, KHA is gathering feedback as we prepare to finalize our 2024 Kansas legislative priorities. Areas of importance relate to hospital finance and reimbursement, as well as building the health care workforce. We also discussed the KHA budget, strategic plan and distributed the most recent county economic impact reports.
As always, we greatly appreciate the KHA sponsors who shared valuable information from KHSC, APS and KAMMCO. Thank you to everyone who attended our in-person meetings. Your participation and involvement is appreciated! If you weren't able to join us for one of the in-person meetings, we are hosting the virtual KHA district meeting today, Friday, Oct. 13, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. It's not too late to register. Materials shared at the meeting will be available online next week.
Don't hesitate to let us know if you have questions or need assistance!
--Chad Austin