Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Policy Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stakeholders press KDADS on rate study, KDHE regulation costs and authorization delays; KDADS sets follow‑up
Summary
Stakeholders during the KDADS call raised concerns about KDHE mandates imposing unfunded costs on HCBS providers, whether the governor's FY26 budget includes rate increases and ongoing problems with authorizations not being loaded timely by MCOs.
Stakeholders during the question period raised three interrelated policy and fiscal concerns: the cost of new KDHE public health mandates, the status of rate changes in the governor's FY26 budget, and MCO authorization loading delays that affect provider billing.
Megan, a KDADS policy lead, said the KDHE regulatory item is a KDHE public health matter and KDADS has not had substantive discussions with KDHE on funding for compliance costs; KDADS said it will continue to engage and can place the topic on the Financial Management Services (FMS) agenda for further discussion.
On the governor's FY26 budget, KDADS said the governor’s recommendation did not include rate increases for FE, BI and TA waivers but did include enhanced funding for additional capacity; any rate or capacity changes for those waivers will be considered and must be approved by the Legislature’s House Social Services Budget Committee. KDADS additionally said it is conducting an independent rate study to inform future rate discussions and encouraged providers to contact the contractor if they want to participate.
Regarding MCO authorization and billing problems, KDADS advised providers to continue to report issues to the EVV mailbox; KDADS escalates reported issues to MCOs on weekly calls and offered to add the matter to a January 27 FMS meeting for deeper review. KDADS said some items will be addressed through the FMS escalation process and that staff will post follow‑up information on the KDADS website.
KDADS also answered several procedural questions (e.g., conflict‑free case management timing, day services stakeholder engagement and whether Charting the LifeCourse is mandatory). KDADS staff repeatedly told attendees that details and formal decisions would be posted on the KDADS website and listserv and encouraged attendance at upcoming webinars and the next stakeholder call on March 17.
