Advocates for Kansans with disabilities and frail seniors say they will file objections to proposed KanCare waiver changes reports the Kansas Health Institute.
The waivers define the state’s approach to Medicaid funded services that help them live in the community rather than in nursing homes.
The proposed changes are expected to affect Medicaid-funded services for the frail elderly, people with physical and developmental disabilities, and people who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries. Those services are part of KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program that is administered by three for-profit managed care companies.
Some concerns of the advocacy groups are:
- Sleep cycle support isn’t available on the frail elderly waiver
- Personal care workers are paid 40 cents an hour less on the frail elderly waiver than they make under the physically disabled waiver
- Frail elders who have attendant care workers help with meal preparation could be moved to a home-delivered meal program like Meals on Wheels. Advocates question if that means instead of three meals a day, recipients will have meals delivered once or twice a week.
- Some language appears to prevent assisted living facilities from being considered a community based setting if they are attached to a nursing home.
- Kansans with developmental disabilities could lose access to the case managers who help determine and access needed services.
- The approach for brain injury appears to have a major shift from teaching coping strategies to a medical model of fixing people as much as possible and then moving on.
- The age requirement is changing for attendants from 16 to 18.
A personal story of Kansas parents worried about how managed care oversight will affect their KanCare services is here.
Here’s the links to the Proposed Changes HCBS Programs Posted for Public Comment.
