Video by Ken Newton

Ken Newton/St. Joseph News-Press

Hiawatha Community Hospital administrator John Moore, left, talks with Congressman Jerry Moran Friday morning in Hiawatha, Kan. The Republican lawmaker, a candidate for a Kansas U.S. Senate seat, co-chairs the congressional Rural Health Care Coalition.

HIAWATHA, Kan. — Jerry Moran claims he ran for Congress with the sole purpose of wanting to save rural communities. Doing that, the lawmaker insists, means saving small-town health facilities.

“I recognize that if you lose your hospital, you lose your community,” he said Friday. “If you can’t attract physicians to your town, people don’t live here.”

Mr. Moran, a Republican House member since 1997, co-chairs the congressional Rural Health Care Coalition. He said the 69-county 1st District of Kansas has more hospitals than any other congressional district.

The lawmaker spent part of the morning at Hiawatha Community Hospital chatting with doctors and other health providers, especially seeking input on the health reform legislation pending in Congress.

His trip into the 2nd Congressional District also proved a touch-base session for his U.S. Senate campaign. The Hays-based politician wants to replace Sen. Sam Brownback, who announced plans to leave his seat in Washington to run for Kansas governor.

Touring the facility with hospital administrator John Moore, the congressman encountered Dr. Brett Miller, an orthopedic surgeon who asked if the lawmaker favored the current reform proposal in the House. Mr. Moran said he did not.

“So, we’ll get along,” Dr. Miller replied.

The representative said H.R. 3200 threatens to damage the Medicare system and its ability to reimburse health providers in a way that cover costs. With that impairment, the job becomes even tougher to keep small-town hospitals viable.

“That’s my greatest fear in all this debate,” Mr. Moran said. “Don’t mess up what we have by paying for improvements out of those funds that keep us alive.”

The Republican calls changes in the health-care system necessary, and he favors a plan that allows for broader insurance pools, permits marketing of insurance across state lines and addresses pre-existing conditions. The lawmaker also advocates cost-containment measures such as malpractice reform and the encouragement of technology in record-keeping.

“You ought not turn 58 and be wedded to your job until you reach Medicare age, because if you leave no one is going to take you because of some condition you have,” Mr. Moran said. “I don’t think we would ever create this system if we were starting from scratch.”

Mr. Moran believes some reform bill will pass this year. Mr. Moore fears collapse of the overall legislative effort might sacrifice easy fixes that can be achieved.

“Maybe there’s some low-hanging fruit here that we can do with insurance,” the hospital administrator said. “Let’s fix that little piece and go forward.”

Ken Newton can be reached

at kenn@npgco.com.