Heather, a Pratt County staff member, told the county commission that a newly created federal rural health incentive fund could bring money to rural providers — including the county's hospital and emergency medical services — but that Kansas officials are working on an exceptionally short schedule.

"The fund was created, $50,000,000,000 fund. Half of the fund will be divided equally amongst the states," Heather said during the meeting, adding that the other half will be competitively awarded and that Kansas may receive additional priority points when the state applies.

The fund, Heather said, is intended to support short-term, start-up innovations that can drive long-term Medicaid and Medicare savings rather than ongoing new entitlements. One example discussed was allowing EMS agencies to bill for non-transport on-scene care — for instance, providing an IV to a diabetic patient in the field to avoid an emergency department visit and transport costs.

"So things like the example given on the Zoom this morning was, what about EMS being able to bill for services provided on the scene that they don't transport?" Heather said. She told the commission she would connect a local contact, Brian, with the state EMS group that is preparing ideas for the application.

Heather said ideas must be submitted to the state by "this Friday," and that the state plan itself must be filed by the date of the K‑State vs. KU football game, a deadline she described as imminent. She also said KDHE and KU are among the entities the state expects to coordinate the Kansas submission.

Commissioners asked for examples of common local calls that could be affected; one commissioner noted that "diabetic and fall calls are probably the two biggest ones" in their area. Heather said the fund is intended to help offset planned reductions in reimbursement rates included in the federal reconciliation bill and that the pool aims to soften those cuts for rural providers.

No formal action or vote was taken at the meeting on the fund or on any local application strategy. Heather asked the commission whether they had questions and said she would follow up with local EMS stakeholders and Brian to align local proposals with the state submission timeline.

Why it matters: If Pratt County or regional partners submit a qualifying innovation and receive funding, it could change how some pre-hospital care is delivered and paid for locally. The proposal as described is at the planning stage; the commission received an informational briefing and no binding commitments were made.