Home‑health providers ask committee to raise Medicaid rates to 80% of Medicare to preserve rural access
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Summary
Home‑health providers told the committee rates unchanged since 2002 leave many services paid at 20–25% of Medicare, pushing agencies to limit KanCare patients; they asked KDHE and the committee to fund rate increases to 80% of 2026 Medicare per‑visit rates and to produce fiscal notes.
Multiple home‑health providers and their trade association asked the Committee on Social Services Budget to include funds in the KDHE budget to raise Medicaid home‑health reimbursement rates to 80% of calendar year 2026 Medicare per‑visit rates.
Kristen Atta, executive director of the Kansas Home Care & Hospice Association, told the committee that some Kansas home‑health rates have not been updated since 2002 and may sit at roughly 20–25% of Medicare, forcing agencies to narrow service areas, stop accepting new KanCare patients, or leave the program. "When you take into account that agencies are traveling to patients' homes, just reimbursing the clinician's mileage for a single visit can eat up the entire payment," Atta said, urging KDHE to assist with a fiscal note before the house appropriations process.
Julie Pinkerton (Prairie Home Health, Dodge City) provided rural cost detail: she said a 30‑minute registered nurse visit within 10 miles costs her agency about $66 while Medicaid pays $50, producing an immediate per‑visit loss. She and Atta asked the committee to include funds to increase rates to 80% of 2026 Medicare per‑visit rates, and asked KDHE to calculate the fiscal impact.
Committee members asked about the aggregate dollar impact and how quickly increases could be implemented. Witnesses said they lacked an immediate fiscal note but offered to provide detailed cost schedules to staff. No formal action or vote occurred; the committee requested KDHE assistance in preparing fiscal estimates to inform appropriators.