Free‑market think tank Heartland Impact announced a statewide advertising push aimed at Kansas legislators ahead of a special committee meeting on the 340B hospital program. The organization says the program, originally created in 1992 to help safety‑net hospitals serve low‑income Kansans, has become a source of waste, fraud and abuse.

Think tank’s concerns

Executive Director Cameron Sholty told The Center Square that the campaign’s goal is to “urge Kansas lawmakers to rein in the waste, fraud, and abuse in the 340B hospital program rather than blindly expanding it.” He argues that lawmakers have an opportunity to install safeguards and bring accountability to a system that should serve low‑income Kansans but is, in his view, being used by corporate hospitals for programs that do not directly benefit patients.

Sholty said the program has turned into a “slush fund for big hospitals,” noting that every dollar lost to waste, fraud or abuse is a dollar not spent on community health care, research or innovation in the Jayhawk State.

Specific allegations

Heartland Impact’s digital ads cite the University of Kansas Health System’s Fiscal Year 2025 Overview and low community‑benefit scores from the Lown Institute Hospitals Index. The ads claim that tax‑exempt systems like the University of Kansas take millions from taxpayers while receiving poor community‑benefit rankings.

The ads also allege that non‑profit Stormont Vail uses 340B funds to “garnish wages” for lower‑income patients, and that Ascension Via Christi has taken millions in federal funds, paid its former CEO nearly $2 million, and cut corners on key services.

Legislative context

The campaign is timed for the Kansas legislature’s Oct. 19‑20 Special Committee on the 340B Program. Lawmakers will consider whether to tighten oversight, adjust eligibility criteria, or otherwise reform the program.

Heartland Impact urges viewers to contact their representatives and demand that the state put patients first by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.

Responses

The Center Square reached out to the University of Kansas Health System, Stormont Vail and Ascension Via Christi for comment. None of the three organizations responded at the time of publishing.

While the think tank’s claims focus on financial stewardship, supporters of the 340B program argue that the discounts it provides help keep drug costs down for vulnerable patients and that reforms could unintentionally reduce access to care.

As the special committee convenes, Kansas residents and taxpayers will be watching closely to see whether new safeguards are adopted or the program continues under its current structure.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.