This week a federal district court judge blocked implementation of a regulation that would have required state Medicaid programs to pay in-home care workers minimum wage and overtime. The ruling upheld a provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows some care workers to be paid less than minimum wage.
According to KHI News, KDADS Secretary Kari Bruffett alerted legislators earlier this year to the new rule's potential for increasing costs and reducing access to Medicaid-funded services that help people live in community-based settings rather than in nursing homes.
At the time, Bruffett said the regulatory change could affect more than 10,700 Kansans receiving in-home services. As many as 1,400 people, she said, could see reductions in sleep cycle support, a service that involves paying someone to stay with an individual who should not be left alone at night due to their disability or medical condition.
Click here for the entire KHI News article, which includes links to download the District Court ruling and an affidavit from Kari Bruffett.
No comments:
Post a Comment