Your Monday Morning Update!

February 17, 2014

Your Monday Morning Update:

With the majority of our past attention on KanCare, we have turned the corner and are moving on (we are still watching around that corner though). The issue of the week now, is the underserved waiting list. An individual who is receiving one service but waiting for another is considered underserved.

Last week the Social Services Budget Committee recommended and adopted, that the $4 million waiting list funding that had lapsed (due to a proviso by Rep. Crum last year) be recaptured for DD waiver services and that unspent physical disability (PD) waiver funds and savings from KNI (one of the state’s DD hospitals) be used for the underserved waiting list. There were several committee members, who voted against the use of the PD dollars, but the votes just weren’t there, and it passed. This proviso is now headed to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration. The Appropriations Committee is responsible for creating the House budget.

There are over 1400 individuals on the statewide waiting list and almost 430 of them are from Johnson County. Nearly 350 of the group from Johnson County want a residential service which means additional facilities, staff and supports. With the historical lack of timely payment from the Managed Care Organizations to providers, it may be problematic for some I/DD providers to agree to bring on additional clients until payment issues are resolved.

If you know of someone on the underserved list, carefully read the attached brochure. If you have questions, contact your case manager or the Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRC) at 1-877-776-1541 or check out www.DDUnderserved.org. The DRC has written some simple instructions to assist in this process.

In other business, last Friday was the last day for non-exempt committees to introduce bills. This week is set to be the busiest week yet as committees continue to work toward Turnaround Day on February 28. It will be their last full week to work bills and push them out of committee. There are several bills that we are watching and will definitely keep you informed of anything that may negatively or positively affect I/DD.

By the way, there’s a new KanCare Ombudsman in town. Her contact information is:

Kerrie Bacon

KanCare Ombudsman

Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services

503 S Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603

Toll Free: (855) 643-8180

Office: (785) 296-6270

Cell: (785)213-2258

TTY: 711

Fax: (785) 296-0256

[email protected]

KDADS Website: www.kdads.ks.gov