Feds OK Long-Term Services in KanCare

Kansas officials said they have received formal approval from federal authorities to include long-term services for the developmentally disabled in KanCare.They said they would release later Thursday copies of the signed documents, including so-called "special terms and conditions," spelling out some of the terms of the inclusion, which has been resisted by most of the state's providers of developmental disability services.Gov. Sam Brownback, who launched his administration's Medicaid makeover on Jan. 1, 2013, called the inclusion "an important step forward for KanCare" and the 8,500 developmentally disabled people who receive Medicaid services.

Editorial: Ongoing Concern

Leaders of organizations that advocate for people who have developmental disabilities may have won the battle in the Kansas Senate this session, but it’s certain that the war is not over.Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson, stressed as much when he said he has no plans for the Senate to take up the Senate substitute for House Bill 2155 that would limit services a Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO) could provide. The issues the bill was attempting to address still need to be faced, he warned.Yes indeed. And the assistance provided to thousands of Kansans remains to be determined.

Kansas May File Medicaid Waiver Application Soon

TOPEKA, Kans. — The waiver application needed for Gov. Sam Brownback's proposed Medicaid makeover is nearly complete and could be filed with federal officials before the month is up, Brownback administration officials said yesterday.
Still unclear, an administration source said, was whether public hearings on the waiver application would be required in order to satisfy new federal regulations governing so-called Medicaid 1115 waiver applications.

Kansas County Urges Governor to Reconsider Medicaid Managed Care Plan

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Shawnee County Commission is throwing in its two cents on the state’s Medicaid managed care debate.
The three-member commission passed a resolution Thursday encouraging Gov. Sam Brownback to reconsider his KanCare plan. The governor's office is examining bids from five private managed care companies for three contracts to administer state Medicaid services worth $2.8 billion.
The plan is expected to save the state $850 million over five years without cutting eligibility or services