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Advocates say Kansas brain injury waiver saves money, urge funding to avoid waiting list
Summary
Minds Matter and survivor advocates told the committee the Brain Injury Waiver helps people return to community living at far lower cost than institutional care and urged funding to prevent a waiting list; presenters described program eligibility, costs and a governor-recommended $719,000 request to expand access.
Janet Williams of Minds Matter and critics and survivors of brain injury urged the Bethell committee to support additional funding for Kansas’ Brain Injury Waiver, which the advocates said enables rehabilitative services that reduce long‑term institutional costs.
Janet Williams, representing Minds Matter, said Kansas created the brain injury waiver in 1991 and expanded eligibility in 2019 to include acquired brain injuries (stroke, tumor) and to extend the age range. She told committee members the cost of an acute brain injury rehab facility averages about $1,500 per day, while community‑based waiver services average about $100 per day. She said the waiver is a rehabilitation program designed to return people to independence and often reduces the long‑term need for institutional care.
Williams described program obstacles: Social Security Disability and Medicaid eligibility rules, limited funding for community services, and workforce challenges for therapists whose credentials are increasingly advanced (master’s or doctorate). Minds Matter asked the committee to recommend the governor’s supplemental funding request, $719,000, to avoid a waiting list for community waiver services.
Eric Hyde, a traumatic brain‑injury survivor, told the committee he has experienced and observed practices he described as exploitative among some providers in the KanCare system and urged the state to measure providers by recovery outcomes rather than enrollment. Hyde, who said he formerly worked for a provider, criticized payment incentives that he said can encourage longer enrollment instead of discharge after rehabilitation.
Committee members asked about program scale and access: presenters said the waiver now serves slightly more than 1,000 people statewide (up from roughly 250 when eligibility was limited), that referrals increased, and that additional funding would reduce or avert waiting lists and support community transition services. Williams said Minds Matter serves a substantial portion of waiver participants, helps people find employment and housing, and requested committee support for both the governor’s rate increase request and the waiting‑list funding.
