Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Hospitals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kansas House adopts conference committee report to allow SNF waivers for rural emergency hospitals and creates South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital
Summary
House Bill 2249 was adopted by the Kansas House; it authorizes limited physical‑environment waivers to allow up to 10 skilled nursing facility beds to remain at newly designated rural emergency hospitals and establishes the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital and related fee funds and catchment areas.
The Kansas House on April 9 adopted the conference committee report on House Bill 2249, a measure that (1) authorizes the Secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) to grant physical‑environment waivers allowing up to 10 skilled nursing facility (SNF) beds to remain at newly designated rural emergency hospitals and (2) establishes the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital with a fee fund to support completion, defines hospital catchment areas and renames Parson State Hospital and Training Center as Parson State Hospital.
Representative Bryce, who brought the conference committee report, said the SNF bed waivers allow rural emergency hospitals to avoid the cost and disruption of reapplying under a new licensing pathway.
"Without the waiver our newly designated rural emergency hospital could not continue to have their skilled nursing facility beds unless they updated and reapplied as a new application which would be cost prohibitive," Representative Bryce said. He described the waiver as helping to "prevent closure of needed hospital services."
The conference report also folded in language creating a South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital, a fee fund for its completion and statutory catchment areas for state hospitals; it renamed Parson State Hospital and Training Center as Parson State Hospital.
Representative Susan Ruiz spoke in support of adopting the report on the floor. The House took the conference report as final action and the Clerk opened the roll for a recorded vote; the chair declared the bill passed.
The transcript did not record a complete roll‑call tally in a single clear line for this item; the House announced the bill was declared passed following the roll call.
The measure’s implementation will involve KDADS and the agencies named in the bill language to oversee waivers and to manage the new fee fund and hospital designation.
