Specialty Hospitals in Kansas: An Unfolding Story

This report assesses both the services provided by specialty hospitals in Kansas and their impact on the general hospitals with which they compete. It confirms that specialty hospitals provide a more limited range of services, treat fewer types of cases and are more focused on surgical procedures than general hospitals. It also concludes that specialty hospitals treat a higher proportion of Medicare patients and lower proportions of Medicaid and uninsured payments than general hospitals. Still, it indicates that the impact of specialty hospitals on general hospitals has been mixed. It varies based on the market area surveyed and the specific service lines reviewed. The analysis, conducted jointly by the Kansas Health Institute and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, with the cooperation of the Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Surgical Hospital Association, concludes with a series of state-level policy options designed to help policymakers better monitor the marketplace and foresee the impact of policy changes on the health care system.

Access this publication in the Documents & Downloads section.