LeadingAge Kansas had a packed week with conferences and committee meetings. The Subcommittee on Contract Nursing convened Monday through Wednesday, tackling topics such as history, liability issues, pay discrepancies, and workforce efforts in contract nursing. The committee is set to convene on Thursday to draft recommendations concerning contract nursing in Kansas. Watch the hearings from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Big thanks to LaMonte Rothrock from The Cedars, Holly Noble from Attica Long Term Care, Carter Olson from Nicol Home, Gretchen Sapp from Paramount Community Living and Rehab, and Jenna Beilman from Wichita Presbyterian Manor for their invaluable insights on this crucial matter!
In budget discussions, the House and Senate met intermittently on Monday and Tuesday, finalizing significant adjustments affecting LeadingAge Kansas within the KDADS budget:
- Increased average reimbursement rate for agency-directed personal care services on the Frail Elderly (FE) waiver to $30 per hour for FY 2025.
- One-time funding continuation of Medicaid add-on to nursing facilities for FY 2025, amounting to about $15/resident/day.
- Directives for studying capacity issues for HCBS services under the FE waiver, overseeing registration of supplemental nursing staff agencies, and reporting on involuntary discharges and transfers from licensed adult care homes for FY 2025.
Moreover, the House Health and Human Services collaborated with the Senate Public Health and Welfare, resulting in significant progress on various bills, including the acceptance of the Senate version of HB2784 with recommended amendments and inclusion of HB2777, the OSFM body camera bill, and H Sub for SB352, the patient visitation bill (House version) in the conference report. LeadingAge Kansas was a proponent for the House version as it did not include any civil cause of action or penalties for providers attempting to keep in compliance with federal regulations.
Overall, it’s been a productive week for aging services at the Capitol, with the next steps involving the debate and hopeful passage of conference committee reports (CCRs) in each chamber, followed by a brief recess before budget committees reconvene in late April to address outstanding matters in omnibus sessions.
