KDADS sets July 1, 2025 go‑live for MFEI; temporary ‘bridge’ rates to cover new IDD waiver enrollees for one year

The Kansas Department for Aging & Disability Services (KDADS) said Friday that its new Medicaid functional eligibility instrument (MFEI) will go live on July 1, 2025, and that the agency will apply a temporary, standardized “bridge” reimbursement rate for participants who newly enroll on the home- and community‑based services (HCBS) intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) waiver.

KDADS Assistant Commissioner Seth Kilber said the bridge rate will apply only to people who are newly enrolled on the waiver after the July 1 go‑live date and will expire June 30, 2026. "We're still currently on track for a July 1, 2025 go live date," Kilber said. The agency plans a permanent, acuity‑based reimbursement structure after the one‑year transition.

Why it matters: The change replaces the legacy tiered rates for new enrollees and is intended to prevent service delays tied to uncertainty about reimbursement while the state transitions to an MFEI‑based funding model. KDADS said the bridge rate was designed to be cost neutral to the state's services budget by using average reimbursement for new enrollees from state fiscal year 2024 and by incorporating a 1.5% IDD rate increase approved for state fiscal year 2025.

Major points from the webinar:

• Scope and timing — KDADS said the MFEI will be completed by Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO) assessors but that KDADS will own the final eligibility score. Training prompts for CDDO assessors begin May 29; the offline application for CDDOs opens June 23; and July 1 is the…