Committee hears KDADS briefing on HCBS waivers, steps to reduce IDD waiting list

At a Ways and Means Committee briefing, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services officials described recent investments and administrative changes intended to reduce waiting lists for home- and community-based services (HCBS) and outlined next steps including a planned Community Support Waiver, grant programs and a new assessment tool.

Secretary Laura Howard opened the presentation and said the legislature’s funding allowed the agency to “remove 500 persons from each of those waivers,” and that KDADS has “been able to make some really good progress, particularly as it relates to the waiting list for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the physical disability wait list.”

The nut graf: the department said it serves roughly 30,000 Kansans through seven HCBS waivers, is planning an eighth — the Community Support Waiver — and is pursuing a mix of one-time grants and ongoing budget requests to prevent new waiting lists and accelerate removal of people already on lists.

Commissioner Michelle Hayden described how the waivers work and gave details about recent outreach and offer activity. “The home and community based services waiver is an authorization from Medicaid, that allows beneficiaries to receive treatment at home and community based settings rather than be required to enter an institution,” Hayden said. KDADS reported roughly 30,000 Kansans receive HCBS services and noted growth pressure on the frail-elderly waiver, the technology-assisted (TA) waiver for children, and the brain-injury waiver.

KDADS provided counts from recent outreach rounds: for the IDD waiver the…