First Adjournment Report
The House and Senate adjourned at 4:30am this morning to start their three week break before Veto Session begins. Both chambers churned through lots of bills this last week — but the most important task is always passage of a state budget for next fiscal year. Good news on that front. All told, the legislature has made it possible to bring another $151 million to aging services programs in Kansas. See more details below.
Legislature Approves All Long Term Care Funding Requests
After much negotiation, the House and Senate sent a mega budget to the Governor, which includes large funding increases for aging services programs in Kansas:
- $29 M in State General Funds ($72 M All Funds) to fully fund a nursing facility cost rebase, with an inflation factor through 12/31/23. The full rebase amount is based on calendar year 2019, 2020 and 2021 cost data, however, the data for calendar year 2022 is an estimate.
- $24.6 M in State General Funds ($61.6 M All Funds) to fund a Medicaid payment add-on to distribute per Medicaid resident based on the percentage of Medicaid residents as reported on a facility’s annual cost report.
- $13 million, including $5.2 million SGF, to provide a 10% reimbursement rate increase for providers of Home and Community Based Services Frail Elderly waiver services for FY 2024.
- $3 million, including $1.3 million SGF, to increase PACE reimbursement rates by 5% for FY 2024
- $1.5 million SGF to increase funding for senior nutrition programs
- Budget proviso language requesting an interim committee in FY 24 to take a holistic look at the nursing facility reimbursement rate system, including cost center caps and an acuity-based add-on
First Adjournment Bill Tracker
S Sub for HB 2390 (Formerly SB 6) Restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases. Died in Senate
SB 62 Enacting the protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation act. Died in Senate
SB 277 Regulation of temporary health care staffing agencies Died in Senate
SB 174 (formerly HB 2023) Creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a health care facility Died in Conference
HB 2264/Sub for SB 131 Enacting the patient right to visitation act to require patient care facilities to adopt visitation rules to allow certain relatives and other persons, including clergy, to visit terminally ill patients and other patients making major medical decisions Died in Conference
HB 2292 Establishing tax credit and grant program to support health care apprenticeship programs On way to Governor
HB 2125 (Formerly HB 2408) Exempting certain services provided in an adult care home from board of cosmetology and barbering oversight On way to Governor
H Sub for SB 42 House mega budget bill (bill text not yet published) Merged into Conference Committee Report to SB 194; On way to Governor
S Sub for SB 155 Senate mega budget bill Merged into Conference Committee Report to SB 194; On way to Governor
