Kansas Health Institute | Work by Dave Ranney

Legislators recall Bethell as caring colleague

Bethell dies in I-70 wreck on drive home from end of legislative session

Rep. Bob Bethell, an Alden Republican and a key player in the state’s health reform debate, died early Sunday evening after a one-car accident on Interstate 70 near the Paxico exit. He was 69.

Some domestic violence programs won't contract with SRS

Operators of many of the state’s shelters for victims of domestic violence are letting legislators know they object to a plan by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to alter the way services are offered to their clients who are eligible for public assistance. “It’s pretty simple,” said Rebecca Brubaker, who runs Safehouse Crisis Center, a seven-county program with shelters in Coffeyville and Pittsburg. “We feel that the changes they’ve made to the contracts put victims at risk, and we’re not willing to do that.”

Autism initiative fails to get Senate vote

A bill requiring health insurers to cover the condition remains in committee

After two tries in two days, supporters of a measure that would have required health insurance companies to cover autism disorders failed to get the bill out of committee for a vote on the Senate floor.

Proposal aims to help at-risk families avoid foster care

$1 million would launch new initiative at SRS

Budget negotiators for the House and Senate have tentatively agreed to spend $1 million on an initiative aimed at keeping at-risk children out of the state’s foster care system.

Senate offer would shift domestic violence program to Governor's Office from SRS

House and Senate budget negotiations continued another day with a final spending plan still unsettled

Senate budget negotiators have proposed a major change in how the state funds programs for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. But the offer made during House-Senate budget negotiations was among the dozens of items still on the table when talks ended Monday. The bargaining teams agreed to resume talks at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

SRS releases SILCK audit

SRS is preparing a "demand letter," directing the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas to pay back almost $520,000.

CMS posts KanCare proposal, invites public comment

The proposal's appearance on the CMS website marks the start of a 30-day public comment period.

Senators criticize SRS handling of domestic violence contracts

Several members of the Senate budget committee today objected to a decision by officials at the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to alter the agency's contract with an advocacy group that oversees services for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Public comment on KanCare plan expected to begin this week

After the state's KanCare Medicaid waiver application is posted on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, the public will have 30 days to comment.

SRS files plan to correct Larned hospital problems

Proposal for correcting second round of deficiencies will come later this month

In response to a recent survey report, state welfare officials have a plan for tightening procedures for prescribing and dispensing medications, developing an electronic health record system, raising nurses’ salaries and hiring 23 full-time workers at Larned State Hospital.

Federal official warns against companies that prey on the elderly

Kansas AG's task force hears from Hubert H. Humphrey III

A federal official criticized mortgage and insurance companies that prey on seniors. Hubert H. Humphrey III of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spokes with members of the Kansas Attorney General's Vulnerable Older Adults Task Force.

Governor's claim of waiting list progress challenged

Advocates for the disabled counter Brownback statements

Federal officials have not responded to Gov. Sam Brownback’s assertions that his administration is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But advocates for the physically disabled say the governor’s recent open letter to federal officials asserting his administration is doing enough to help people with physical disabilities live in community settings should not go unchallenged.

Domestic violence group drops contract talk with SRS

Officials says new state requirements could harm domestic violence victims

Officials for a group that helps victims of sexual assault and domestic violence said today that they have pulled out of contract renewal talks with Kansas welfare officials because of new state requirements they believe could be harmful to the people they try to assist.

KU Cancer Center director calls proposed tobacco study 'hogwash'

Also blasts bill that would add exemption to statewide smoking ban

Exempting bars from the state's statewide smoking ban would be "very bad public policy," according to Dr. Roy Jensen. The House is scheduled to debate the exemption proposal on Friday.

House budget committee backs Larned State Hospital plan

Committee also agrees to add 30 beds to the hospital's sexual predator unit and 30 beds to its forensic unit.

Committee questions additional funding for Larned State Hospital

Senate panel defers action until budget debated on the floor

The Senate Ways and Means Committee held off on dealing with the governor's request for more money for Larned State Hospital after some questions from members went unanswered.

Governor proposes additional $1.9 million for Larned State Hospital

Money would be used to raise nurses' salaries, hire more direct-care workers.

Governor heeds call to postpone DD in KanCare

Long-term services for the developmentally disabled would not be included until Jan. 1, 2014

Gov. Sam Brownback announced he supports delaying for a year the inclusion of long-term services for the developmentally disabled in KanCare, the administration’s plan for letting insurance companies manage day-to-day operations of the state’s $2.8 billion Medicaid program.

Larned State Hospital seeks additional $2.1 million

The money would be used to raise nurses’ wages, fill vacant positions and increase the medical director’s salary from $210,000 to $240,000.

Justice Dept. takes over waiting list case

Because the Department of Justice has taken over negotiations with the governor’s office, it's more likely that the state will be sued in federal court.

Workers with unhealthy lifestyles can expect premium increases, expert says

The president of a nationally known risk management company says large employers are starting to embrace the concept of charging workers who engage in unhealthy lifestyles more for health insurance.

New policy aims to reduce number of Kansans in nursing homes

Officials estimate there could be 800 people or more able to live in less restrictive settings

The Kansas Department on Aging has put together a list of 800 nursing home residents who officials believe might be able to move to less expensive, less institutional settings. The agency has asked the state’s Area Agencies on Aging and Centers for Independent Living to have their case managers meet with each of the 800 people. KDoA has pledged to pay the case manager’s employer $2,000 for each Medicaid-funded nursing home resident who is able to move out of the nursing home and stay out for at least 60 days. The new policy is lauded by some but is drawing flak from the state's nursing home industry.

KanCare bidder settles with U.S. Justice Department

WellCare will pay $137.5 million to settle claims it bilked Medicaid in nine states

A company that is among the five bidding on the state’s Medicaid managed care contract has agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle claims it defrauded Medicaid programs in nine states.

Counties weighing in on KanCare

The first resolution urging that services for the developmentally disabled be pulled from KanCare was jointly endorsed March 5 by commissioners in Marion and Harvey counties. The Topeka-based Kansas Association of Counties later distributed copies of the document to the state’s other 103 counties. Within a month, 22 other counties approved their own resolutions and more are expected to follow.

Assisted living facilities scored by care advocates

Kansas Advocates for Better Care has compiled a list of the state's high- and low-performing facilities that provide assisted living or residential care.

Larned State Hospital internship program accredited

The American Psychological Association has accredited the internship program at Larned State Hospital. State officials said they expect that will help improve recruitment and retention of clinical psychologists.

SRS official predicts Rainbow will reopen with 50 beds

State mental facility undergoing building improvements

The state welfare official who oversees the state hospitals said Rainbow Mental Health Facility would resume full operations in about a year. And he predicted it would have restored capacity for 50 patients.

Accrediting team cites problems at Larned State Hospital

Most of the 30 deficiencies were related to persistent staffing problems

A national hospital accrediting team visited Larned State Hospital and cited the facility for 30 shortcomings, several of them major. Most of the problems stem from persistent understaffing.

Civil rights enforcers meet with governor on waiting list issue

Four civil rights enforcers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services met privately today with Gov. Sam Brownback and top Kansas welfare officials to discuss the state's long waiting list for services to the disabled.

Hospital administrator to chair KanCare Advisory Council

Panel holds first meeting

Several concerns were raised during the council's first meeting.

Governor, HHS official to discuss waiting list

The director of the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is scheduled to meet with Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday to discuss concerns about the state's growing waiting list for services for the disabled.

House committee passes KanCare oversight bill

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, said she hopes to chair the proposed oversight committee.

Senate committee endorses KanCare oversight bill

The Senate Ways and Means Committee today endorsed a bill to create a joint legislative committee to oversee KanCare, Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to move virtually all the state's Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care plans.

KanCare bidders heavily courting Medicaid providers

A flurry of activity from several ardent suitors

Gov. Sam Brownback’s Medicaid reform plan, KanCare, has spawned one of the biggest, busiest and, some say, most confusing courtships in state history. Medicaid providers say they are being inundated with solicitations from the five companies vying for state contracts. But many are holding off until the contracts are awarded. “I feel like I’m the pretty girl in high school and it’s two weeks before prom,” said Krista Postai, who runs the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, a multi-site, safety-net clinic headquartered in Pittsburg. “I have lots of offers.”

SRS sheds little light on waiting-list discussion with feds

Confidentiality agreement precludes sharing details with Legislature, SRS official says

A spokesman for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services declined to say much to a legislative committee about a recent meeting with federal officials over concerns about the state's growing waiting list for services for the disabled.

Former insurance exec warns against for-profit MCOs

But a top administration official says many of the concerns raised will be addressed

A former spokesman for one of the nation’s largest health insurers says Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan for letting managed care companies run the state’s Medicaid program calls for trusting an industry that has a history of putting profits ahead of beneficiaries’ health.

Committee endorses effort to 'decriminalize' mental illness

The resolution would promote crisis intervention teams. The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved an expansion of the state's Good Samaritan law and heard testimony on a bill that would allow police to share information sooner with mental health centers, in instances where a person thought to be mentally ill has been detained.

Committee agrees to halt admissions to KNI

Budget proviso would shift new admissions to Parsons State Hospital as needed

The House Appropriations Committee today approved a proviso aimed at halting admissions to Kansas Neurological Institute, one of the state’s two hospitals for people with severe developmental disabilities.

Hearing to focus on waiting-list concerns

The House Aging and Long-term Care Committee will hold a hearing next week on reports that federal officials may be close to citing the state for not doing enough to reduce waiting lists for services for the physically and mentally disabled.

Committee to examine KanCare

At least two days of hearings planned in House Health and Human Services Committee

The House Health and Human Services Committee next week will hold at least two days of hearings on KanCare.

Legislators push to delay KanCare start

Six-month postponement would allow more time to prepare, backers of resolution say

A resolution urging Gov. Sam Brownback to delay by six months the start of his Medicaid reform plan was introduced today in the Kansas Senate.

Colyer: KanCare will improve mental health services

Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan for letting managed care companies run the state’s Medicaid program will help people with mental illness lead more productive lives, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer told mental health advocates.

Prosecutors agree to promote mental health diversions

The Kansas County and District Attorneys Association has agreed to adopt an initiative aimed at keeping mentally ill, low-level offenders out of jail.

Confirmation of SRS chief draws opposition

Phyllis Gilmore's appointment is drawing heat from some families of foster children

Parents and grandparents of children who’ve been in the state’s foster care system are urging their senators to vote against confirming Phyllis Gilmore as secretary at the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.

Legislators to propose KanCare delay

Resolutions to be introduced in the House and Senate

Several legislators are expected to introduce a resolution urging Gov. Sam Brownback to delay by six months the start of his Medicaid reform plan.

Audit committee calls for AG look at Medicaid contract

A legislative audit committee wants the Kansas Attorney General’s Office to examine whether a company that is overhauling the state’s Medicaid eligibility system misrepresented itself during the contract bid-letting process.

HHS, SRS discuss waiting list

A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services confirmed that agency officials met today for several hours with federal counterparts in Kansas City to discuss the state's long-running waiting list for services for the disabled.

Advocates for disabled say feds poised to act on alleged Kansas Olmstead violations

Advocates for the disabled say they believe the federal government is close to taking action against the state of Kansas for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.