A backlog in Medicaid applications is costing Kansas more than two million dollars a year, reports The Lawrence Journal-World.
According to a recent state audit, the massive number of unprocessed first-time applications is weighing on the state budget. The audit also discovered that the state has stopped reviewing renewal applications for now.
However, Kansas will continue to provide services to those waiting for their applications to be processed. As of last month, the state was still waiting to process nearly 35,000 renewal applications. Federal law requires eligibility determinations to be made within 45 days of receiving the application. Due to the backlog, Kansas has not been complying with this law. Currently, 1,700 applications have lingered for more than 45 days. The good news is, that’s far fewer than the peak of about 14,000 a few months ago.