Last Week’s Recap
The House adjourned early on Thursday, shortly after returning from lunch, leaving a number of bills untouched on General Orders. The early departure stemmed from ongoing disagreements within House leadership and rank-and-file members over how to advance PBM reform and 340B-related legislation.
Ultimately, the House returned this week and passed PBM reform without reopening discussion or attempting to add 340B provisions.
Because the House adjourned early, budget conference discussions began Thursday afternoon and continued into the evening until roughly 7:00 p.m., largely due to delays for Senate conferees who were still completing work on the Senate floor. Budget negotiations continued Friday with additional rounds of offers, though several major items remained unresolved heading into the weekend.
Two key policy bills also advanced last week:
- SB 334 (various adult care home oversight provisions) passed the House on Wednesday after significant debate, 81–43, and now heads to the Governor.
- HB 2520 (increasing the Home Plus resident cap from 12 to 16) passed both chambers and is now also before the Governor.
This Week’s Recap & What’s Ahead
Budget negotiations restarted early Monday morning and continued throughout the day with multiple rounds of offers. Conferees worked late into the night—wrapping up around 12:30 a.m.—with several items still unresolved. A final round of negotiations over Tuesday’s lunch hour resulted in agreement on all outstanding issues.
Key Long-Term Care Outcomes in the Budget Agreement
- Involuntary Discharge Proviso – State Licensed Only Adult Care Homes
Clarifies reporting deadlines and requires a joint report to the Legislature, due January 1, 2028, from the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, LeadingAge Kansas, and the Kansas Health Care Association with data and recommendations.
- Senior Nutrition Services Funding
Includes a directive that a specified portion of funds must go directly to Meals on Wheels providers experiencing waitlists, rather than exclusively into the broader Senior Nutrition Services line distributed by AAAs.
- HCBS Frail Elderly (FE) Waiver Slots
Funding for FY 2026 includes the reappropriation language KDADS requested. An additional $15 million in FY 2027 is dedicated to support new enrollees until a waitlist is established.
- HCBS PD/FE Rate Changes
Conferees adopted a position that:
- Cuts the FE Level 3 rate by $3/hour, and
- Uses those dollars to increase PD personal care rates to $29/hour and equalize FE Levels 1–3 at $30/hour.
- This reduction will primarily affect licensed settings such as AL, HP, and RHCF billing with the UA modifier.
- Medicaid Nursing Facility Capacity Payments
Funded at $15 per Medicaid resident per day, which reflects a $5 reduction from last year but avoids the House’s earlier proposal of dropping to $10/day.
Note: Nursing facility rebasing was already included in consensus caseloads adopted earlier in the session and therefore was not part of conference negotiations.
What Comes Next
With the budget conference report completed, the Senate will now vote on the conference committee report (CCR) either today or tomorrow. This will be a simple up-or-down vote—no amendments allowed. The original Senate budget vote was 21–19, and it remains unclear whether the conference changes will increase or decrease support.
If the Senate adopts the CCR, the House will then take it up for a final vote. Both chambers are expected to finish their remaining work late Thursday evening or early Friday, depending on how long floor debate continues over the next two days.
