KS hospital at risk of losing Medicare payments

The federal government has told the state that the Osawatomie State Hospital has three weeks to correct problems found in a recent inspections or it will no longer be eligible for Medicare payments. The head of the Kansas agency that oversees the hospital says she's confident that won't happen. Kari Bruffett, secretary of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, assured a legislative committee Tuesday that the state has a plan to help address problems — particularly overcrowding — before Osawatomie is taken off Medicare, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Osawatomie State Hospital and Larned State Hospital are the only two state hospitals that house patients with severe mental illness.