FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear held a ceremonial bill signing of Sen. Phillip Wheeler’s Senate Bill 280 Friday afternoon.
The bill creates a new program to allow classified rural hospitals to receive the same Medicaid reimbursements that either the University of Kentucky College of Medicine or the University of Louisville School of Medicine normally receive. According to a press release from the Legislative Research Commission, an estimated 43 Kentucky hospitals meet the requirements of the new plan.
The program evens things for hospitals with fewer commercial insurance payors versus those with much higher Medicare and Medicaid payers, which are mainly in rural communities.
“The passage of Senate Bill 280 is a major win for rural health care in the commonwealth,” said Wheeler, R-Pikeville. “While our major university-operated health care facilities do a fantastic job of providing world-class care to our residents, we can’t forget the crucial role that our rural hospitals play in providing Kentuckians with care, oftentimes in their most urgent times of need. Countless studies have shown that health care outcomes are improved when patients are able to stay close to home and be near their families and loved ones.”
Wheeler recognized and thanked the parties that worked with him to craft the final version of SB 280: University of Kentucky Healthcare Chief of Staff Mark Birdwhistell, Appalachian Regional Hospital President and CEO Hollie Harris, the Kentucky Hospital Association, and Donovan Blackburn, president and CEO of Kentucky’s only Level II trauma hospital, Pikeville Medical Center.
“In the 31st Senate district, our regional health care system is a major economic driver for our regional workforce,” Wheeler said. “Not only does the legislation boost residents’ quality of care in rural Kentucky, but it will also ensure more of our small hospitals keep their doors open, which in turn keeps good-paying jobs in eastern Kentucky and in rural western Kentucky as well.”
Blackburn echoed Wheeler’s applause.
“I cannot find the proper words to express how monumental the passage of Senate Bill 280 is for support and preservation of rural health care, particularly in eastern Kentucky,” Blackburn said. “The role that our regional transfer hospitals play for our rural communities is indispensable. I want to thank Senator Wheeler for his tireless efforts to ensure this legislation became law. I truly value our working partnership and our dear friendship. I look forward to continuing to work together to better strengthen and advocate for our rural Kentucky communities.”
Wheeler represents Kentucky’s 31st Senate District, including Elliott, Johnson, Lawrence, Martin and Pike counties. He is vice chair of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor, and the Senate Judiciary committees. Wheeler is also Capital Planning Advisory Board co-chair, and serves as a member of the Senate Transportation, Natural Resources and Energy, State and Local Government, and Transportation committees.