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Committee approves amendment requiring written plans for 'home‑plus' facilities increasing capacity; HB2520 passes out of committee
Summary
Lawmakers added an amendment to House Bill 2520 requiring any home‑plus facility that expands beyond 12 residents after the act takes effect to develop written plans demonstrating capacity, emergency response and resident safety; KDADS said surveys and bed‑increase reviews will examine those plans and the committee passed the bill as amended.
The House Health and Human Services Committee adopted an amendment and passed House Bill 2520 on final action after technical review and agency explanation.
Donica Short, reviser of statutes, explained that the amendment requires any home‑plus facility that provides care for more than 12 residents after the law’s effective date to develop and maintain written plans demonstrating the facility’s ability to meet residents' needs, respond to emergencies and maintain health and safety at the increased capacity; those plans must be available for review during surveys or inspections.
Lacey Hunter, commissioner of survey certification and credentialing for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), told the committee that inspection and survey processes already review floor plans, square footage and capacity when a facility requests a bed increase, and that the assisted‑living/home‑plus survey cycle averages less than 12 months. Hunter said KDADS would review the written plans during routine surveys and at the time of any bed‑increase inspection.
Committee members asked whether the amendment changes staffing ratios (it does not) and raised ancillary concerns such as neighborhood parking impacts; members who requested further offline conversations were directed to follow up with staff. The amendment carried and the committee voted to pass HB2520 favorably as amended; several members asked to have their no votes recorded.
