Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Kansas veterans homes face staffing gaps as budget shifts nursing costs to off‑budget Medicaid funds
Summary
Agency and staff told the Ways and Means Committee that Kansas Office of Veterans Services is hiring more permanent nurses and relying less on contractors, but funded vacancies and a planned State Institution Building Fund reappropriation for a new Northeast Kansas veterans home pose cash‑flow and construction timing risks.
Molly Pratt, fiscal analyst for the Kansas Legislative Research Department, and Bill Turner, executive director of the Kansas Office of Veterans Services, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee the agency is restructuring how it pays for nursing staff and managing carryforward capital funds while pursuing a federal cemetery grant.
The Office of Veterans Services requested $38.7 million for fiscal year 2026, including about $15.5 million in state general funds. Pratt said much of a year‑to‑year drop in contractual services is driven by the agency shifting nursing costs from on‑budget pooled contracts to off‑budget Medicaid funds used to pay contracted nurses, while the agency is also hiring permanent nurses.
Turner said the agency employs roughly 310 people across two state veterans homes, is funded for about 282 positions, and is currently filled…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
