By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

First Congressional District candidate Jim Barnett met Monday with medical professionals to discuss the state of health care in the country.

As part of what he dubbed a "senior health care tour," the Republican state senator from Emporia made a one-hour stopover at Sunflower Electric Power Corp. in Hays in the hope of eliciting local concerns on the topic, which has become a key issue this year as President Barack Obama works toward an overhaul of the national health care system.

"This is just part of the process for me, to listen," said Barnett, a physician for 30 years who first was elected to the Kansas Senate in 2000. "It's extremely valuable to me to hear your concerns and your input.

"I very much want to continue to synthesize some ideas and some policies that I could recommend in Washington and hopefully be at that table where these decisions need to be made, but have a voice for someone who understands health care."

Little of the discussion was dedicated toward healthcare reform proposals. Instead, the crowd spent the most time expressing their opinions on the need for tort reform in medicine.

"I've noticed as I've practiced medicine, you're always wondering about what tests do you have to order to protect yourself from being sued," Barnett said.

He was not alone in his feelings. The group consensus was that defensive medical practices should be toned down to help curb health care costs.

John Jeter, chief executive officer at Hays Medical Center, said there has been a polarity shift in how medical students are taught concerning defensive medicine. While it is important to consider every option, Jeter said the practice can sometimes become "unnecessary."

"There's a whole generation of physicians that have been trained to practice that way," he said. "When I was in residency ... if you ordered XYZ tests, in the morning report the attending (physicians) would ask you why you ordered them. Now, they ask you why didn't you order them.

"It's a complete change of mentality."

That trend is even true for the field of mental health, where Walt Hill, executive director of High Plains Mental Health Center, said rates have been "skyrocketing" due to malpractice litigation.

In regards to rising costs, Hill said he also was afraid of what might happen to Medicaid. Referencing language in the federal America's Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009 that, among other adjustments, would raise Medicaid eligibility to those at 133 percent of the national poverty level. In Kansas, that rate is anchored at 37 percent.

"The biggest concern is where will the funding come from," Hill said.

Barnett and his audience also spoke of the situation at Pawnee County Health Care in Larned, which announced last month it would close the hospital due to financial loss.

"It's an extremely complicated situation," Jeter said. "But at the end of the day, for regulatory reasons, a really nice town is going to lose a hospital, and it's clearly unfair. It's criminal."

Hays Medical Center has pledged to do its part to help keep services in Larned, which Jeter said would be the largest town in the state without a hospital.

"If anybody can do it, it's Hays," Barnett said.

The national health care debate is likely far from over, but Barnett said it is his belief that complete control by the federal government is not the necessary approach.

"I think we need to allocate resources to communities so they can, at a local level, work to solve those problems that are unique to Hays, that are unique to Larned, or perhaps unique to Kansas," he said, "as opposed to one-size-fits-all out of Washington."