Topic: Access to Health Care
Interview of Tom Bell, March 6, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
Tom Bell served as CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association from 2012 - 2020 when he retired. As the leader of the trade association representing Kansas hospitals, he provided education and advocacy for the 120 hospitals that were his association's members. Bell describes his work mainly as advocating for hospitals in the Kansas Legislature and with the Kansas Congressional Delegation on federal issues. During his interview he identifies several big state issues that impacted his members: Certificate of Need, scope of practice, rural hospitals, medicaid expansion and reimbursements (DRGs). The passage of the Critical Access Hospital Show Morelegislation saved a lot of hospitals and helped solve some problems. Bell said he was constantly looking for ways to balance the competing interests of all the parts of the health care system. He also noted the COVID pandemic had huge, negative impacts that are still being felt. The interview looks at the advantages or disadvantage of being a non-profit hospital vs a for-profit model. It also discussed the need for a state health planning agency to set policy. In response to the question, what are the "top issues that you think we as a state need to be addressing right now for the well-being of hospitals... and the community", Bell indicated workforce was at the top of the list as well as reimbursement and how to help the community access the best level of health care. He concluded the interview by saying, "...what's good for the hospital ought to be what's good for a particular community." Show Less
Interview of Maynard Oliverius, March 6, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
Maynard Oliverius lays out in clear terms the policy choices the federal government made that shaped the health care system in the country today. Starting in 1946 with the Hill-Burton Act that paid for new hospital facilities, then the creation in 1965 of Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that seniors had a way to pay for health care and medical research, he tracks federal changes through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion. He also notes that Kansas was leading other states in health rankings in the early 1990's, but now has fallen significantly behind other states' efforts Show Moreto improve the health of their residents. Access to health care has become a major problem for many Kansans. The interview also touches on the growth of Stormont Vail under his leadership and how it is now a major medical center serving northeast Kansas and is a locally owned, locally operated nonprofit organization. Oliverius concludes by offering his opinion that ideally the country needs to move to a single payer system in order to provide access for all - he describes it as "medicare for all." He expressed concern about the current direction of health policy nationally. Show Less
Interview of Matthew (Matt) All, April 21, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
This is a very important interview in this series about Healthy Kansans because it embraces the discussion on health care financing. It is also interesting because of All's experiences in the political arena that led him to his current role as CEO of one of the state's largest health care insurers. He was involved with the proposed merger of Anthem and Blue Cross when he worked for Gov. Sebelius who turned down the merger. He said, "It became really clear to me at the beginning that this was an important office, and that Kansans sometimes in Show Morethe biggests moments of their lives need somebody to stand beside them. So, I was proud to do the work!" The largest part of the interview is a discussion on how health insurance works, how costs affect premiums, and what the options for the future hold. Despite the difficulties in finding ways to control costs, Mr. All is optimistic about the future. Show Less