So what is the state of rural health care in Kentucky?

That's what lawmakers in Frankfort sought to find out during a committee meeting yesterday.

They heard testimony about how many rural hospitals have taken out loans just to keep their facilities afloat.

And they heard a plea from one behavioral health group whose services are now in danger of being shut down.

Our Emily Prince has more on all of that from Frankfort.

When we talk about the threat of losing a rural hospital is a lot of wringing of hands and national teeth, but again, no sense of urgency of how critical it is.

And when one starts to close, I think to action as well.

I'm glad that with my hospital, well, you're going to be the next one.

Senator Stephen Meredith, co-chair of the Interim Joint Health Services Committee, says everyone needs to be doing more to protect rural health care in the state.

One of the programs looking to do just that is the Kentucky Rural Hospital Loan Program.

Staff from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development shared the impacts it could have on the economy.

If a real hospital is forced to close.

They employ more than 87,000 employees.

They're often the largest employer in the community.

The facts are, pretty obvious.

It would be catastrophic, would be very devastating.

Through the rural hospital loan program, facilities can apply for a loan ranging from $25,000 up to $1 million per project.

Hospitals may not take out more than 2 million total every five years.

Right now, 12 loans have been given out.

Some facilities have taken out multiple loans, like in Ashland, Katies and Madisonville.

What folks don't realize if rural hospitals do close.

You know the economic impact that's going to have on the state.

And it puts our entire state in this spiral.

The committee also heard a plea to save certified community behavioral health clinics in the state.

The clinics, called CBCs for short, specialize in mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

No other provider in Kentucky is required to do what a CC.

She does serve everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week across all of these service lines, regardless of their ability to pay.

The representative said without legal action, Kentucky's program will end on December 31st of 2027.

So all of the infrastructure that's been put into place, predominantly from federal dollars, will go away.

Patients will go back to being on waitlists.

So we basically go back to a system that was failing our communities.

Co-Chair Representative Kim Mosher said she was a supporter of CBCs and would like to work with the pair on legislation.

Finally, the committee heard from the state's rural health care institutes at the University of Kentucky.

The center was established in 1990 to address health care worker shortages and poor health outcomes in rural Kentucky.

Co-Chair Meredith said while they've had some success in certain areas, he doesn't feel like they're moving the needle across the entire state.

What do you need to be more successful?

We would need we would need to be able to have the.

Staff to expand.

To that area.

What are your charges under the original regulations to be advocates for rural health when it comes to budget?

I don't hear from you folks.

You know, I understand, you're funded in part by you.

Okay.

I think you got appropriation from the state for about 850,000 a year, I believe, but that was a reduction the previous year, and I'm shocked at that, given the current landscape of rural health care.

Why?

We would do that.

And why y'all wouldn't come to say we need this money to to move the needle.

Know we're not we're not doing that.

So you need to be more aggressive and need to be more assertive and more specific about what can we do to address these issues that have been here for ages?

It seems like.

Yeah.

And with all due respect, I'm pretty confident that had we not produced all these community health workers and all these, physical therapists and these medical providers out into the community, that the current health status would be a lot worse.

Lawmakers also heard about the Institute for Rural Health at Western Kentucky University has a similar mission for the rural western and south central parts of the state.

In Frankfort for Kentucky edition, I'm Emily Prince.