Today marks the end of the 9th week or day 57 of the 2023 Legislative Session. Of greatest note this week is the wrinkle the House Appropriations Committee put into the KDADS budgets. As previously reported, the Social Services Committee followed our recommendations and added:
- Nursing Home Funding. Fully rebase Kansas nursing homes. The fiscal note according to KDADS would be 72 million in all funds with 29 million being SGF (State General Funds). The current proposed budget only asks for 37.5 million in all funds with 15 million being SGF.
- Increase HCBS/FE funding for licensed adult care homes (Assisted Living, Home Plus Residential Health Care) Continued increases in staffing costs, food costs, energy costs and nearly everything else, we are requesting a 10% increase to the Frail Elder (FE) rate on units of care in licensed adult care homes. The cost is estimated at 11 million dollars in all funds with 4.7 million in SGF.
- Establish an add-on for nursing homes based on the percentage of Medicaid residents that they serve. Formula: 3,083,891 Medicaid days (from 2021 cost report) X $20 = $61,677,820 All funds. $24,671,128 SGF. Distribute per Medicaid resident based on the percentage of Medicaid Residents as reported on annual cost report with a range of added dollars per day from $2 for the homes serving the lowest amount of Medicaid residents up to $25 per day for homes who serve over 80% Medicaid residents.
This recommendation was presented to the House Appropriations Committee where it received initial approval. The snag hit when the Appropriations Committee took up the entire KDADS budget for approval. The committee, after hearing several of KDADS department’s budget, made a move to table the entire discussion of increases and go with the Governor’s recommended budget, at least until Omnibus. The thought process was that with so many talks of tax cuts on the table, they would wait and see what was left of the budget surplus.
I was speechless. K-12 Education isn’t waiting to see what is left. Higher Education is not waiting to see what is left. Transportation is not waiting…I could go on and on.
At the last minute thanks to our strong lobbying presence, the adult care homes budget was pulled out for special consideration at Conference committee. This is good news as this process is much more manageable for us. We will not be competing head-to-head so to speak with every other underfunded social services agency. We will be meeting Monday with select members of leadership to again make clear what our ask is and why it is so important to increase your funding. As one of our lobby team reported, “This whole budget year has been incredibly strange and unpredictable.”
STATUS OF BILLS OF INTEREST TO LONG TERM CARE:
HB 2264 hb2264_01_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) Enacting the no patient left alone act to allow in-person visitation to certain patients at hospitals, adult care homes and hospice facilities.
House Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea: 103 Nay: 19
*The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee will hold a hearing Thursday, March 16, 2023, 8:30 AM Room 142-S
Thu, Feb 23, 2023
House Emergency Final Action - Passed; Yea: 120 Nay: 1
* The Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee will hold a hearing: Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 8:30 AM Room 142-S
HB 2292 hb2292_02_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) Enacting the Kansas apprenticeship tax credit act to encourage development of apprenticeship programs in Kansas by providing income tax credits for participating businesses that employ apprentices.
Thu, Feb 23, 2023
House Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea: 115 Nay: 7
*The bill was heard in the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The next step is to see if the Committee “works” the bill.
SB 6 sb6_00_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) - 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; repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Senate Final Action - Passed; Yea: 22 Nay: 18
*Introduced in the House and referred to the Health and Human Services Committee. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.
SB 62 sb62_00_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) - Enacting the protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation act, requiring reporting of instances of suspected financial exploitation under certain circumstances and providing civil and administrative immunity to individuals who make such reports.
On February 23, 2023 it was Withdrawn from Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance; Referred to Committee on Ways and Means (exempt from the Turnaround Week rule).
* On March 1, 2023, this bill was referred to the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee
The Following Bills are “dead” for the year.
This bill did not move out of committee and is therefore dead for the year.
HB 2246 - Establishing requirements for the involuntary discharge or transfer of a resident in an adult residential care facility and authorizing the secretary to investigate and assess a penalty for violations.
This bill was amended hb2246_01_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) in committee on February 22 recommended to be passed by the Judiciary Committee. The following day, it was removed from the calendar by Rule 1507 which means it’s dead.
HB 2267 hb2267_01_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) - An act concerning motor vehicles; relating to license plates; allowing adult care homes a qualified facility to apply for disability special license plates; amending K.S.A. 8-1,125 and repealing the existing section.
On February 23, it was stricken from House Calendar by Rule 1507, however, KHCA/KCAL accomplished what we set out to do by receiving this memo from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
SB 191 sb191_00_0000.pdf (kslegislature.org) Establishing requirements for the involuntary discharge or transfer of a resident in an adult residential care facility, the right to appeal such discharge or transfer and a process for such appeal.
This bill which is a counterpart to HB 2246 also did not move out of committee so is considered dead for this year.
I am honored and privileged to serve each and every one of you. Thank you for this opportunity.
