Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers has been touring rural hospitals in Kansas, including Geary Community Hospital in Junction City.

He told the Flint Hills Regional Conference on Wednesday that medicaid expansion in Kansas can save lives and keep rural hospitals open.

Rogers noted that nearly 150,000 Kansas fall into the coverage gap but right now one or two people in the State Senate are blocking debate and discussion on the the medicaid expansion issue. “We feel Kansans deserve a debate.”

Rogers touched on other topics during the conference following his travels across Kansas. Some of the key points included some Kansans not feeling listened to by officials in Topeka, and the need for broadband improvements has emerged as a top priority. A broadband map would help state officials identify areas where improvements are needed.   He added putlic input is needed on an interactive map project on connectednation.org/kansas/.