First Adjournment of the 2024 Legislative Session

Subcommittee on Contract Nursing

LeadingAge Kansas had a packed week with conferences and committee meetings. The Subcommittee on Contract Nursing convened Monday through Thursday, tackling topics such as history, liability issues, pay discrepancies, and workforce efforts in contract nursing. On Thursday, the committee recommended amending the proviso language in the budget bill to encompass staffing agencies and tech platform companies for registration and reporting. Additionally, they proposed establishing an interim committee to further review the bill language in HB2265 (our staffing agency bill) and comprehensive health workforce recommendations. These recommendations are expected to be reviewed by House Appropriations and considered at omnibus towards the end of the month. Watch the hearings from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Budget

In budget discussions, the House and Senate met intermittently on Monday and Tuesday, finalizing significant adjustments affecting LeadingAge Kansas members within the KDADS budget including: 

• 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. 

On Friday afternoon, both chambers passed the budget CCR, SB28, with the House passing 78 to 44, and the Senate passing 26 to 12. 

CCRC Oversight, Fire Marshal Body Camera, and Patient Visitation Conferences

On Tuesday, the House Health and Human Services committee conferred with the Senate Public Health and Welfare, making notable advancements on several bills. These include accepting the Senate version of HB2784 with recommended amendments and incorporating HB2777 (the OSFM body camera bill) and H Sub for SB352 (the patient visitation bill, House version) into conference reports. LeadingAge Kansas supported the House version of the patient visitation bill due to its lack of civil cause of action or penalties for providers striving to comply with federal regulations.

However, by Thursday, Senate Public Health and Welfare motioned to reopen the H Sub for SB287 CCR, to remove the word “guidance” on as being able to supersede this Kansas statute for patient visitation. LeadingAge Kansas along with other stakeholders were opposed to this change as compliance with federal guidance is a requirement of participation for Medicare and Medicaid with CMS. The House Health committee held firm for stakeholders until late Friday evening, but ultimately determined it was in the best interest to accede to the request of the Senate to allow for the other bills bundled within this CCR and other CCRs to move forward in the process. The House Chamber heard the patient visitation CCR after midnight on Saturday morning, and it passed 109 to 10. The Senate adjourned around 2:30 that morning without hearing the CCR on the floor.

HB2784 CCR (CCRC oversight and Fire Marshal body camera) and SB287 CCR (patient visitation) remain active and could undergo final action during the legislative sprint to sine die, scheduled for April 26-30. LeadingAge Kansas will offer further details to members on advocacy for these bills in the upcoming weeks at the Spring Conference and through action alerts.

Bill Tracker

View our bill tracker to see which bills survived the conference week and the overall legislative process.

Coming Up

Break until week of April 26-30, then sine die.

Member Shoutout!

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 staffing agency reform!

LeadingAge Kansas Member Data Collection on Certified Dietary Managers/Licensed Dietitians

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