KanCare: November Educational Tour

Below is an update regarding November KanCare Educational Tour dates hosted by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  Please see the KanCare website below for full details including address information for each location and special assistance/accommodations requests, contact information, etc.  These meetings are intended to help Medicaid beneficiaries understand the KanCare enrollment process.

http://www.kancare.ks.gov/events.htm


KanCare Educational Tour Schedule:

Monday, November 26th: 
1pm - 3pm & 6pm - 8pm

• Dodge City: Public Library
• Pittsburg: Homer Cole Center
• Topeka: Capitol Plaza Hotel

Tuesday, November 27th: 

1pm - 3pm & 6pm - 8pm

• Garden City: Garden City Senior Center *The afternoon meeting will start at 1:30pm
• Indepencence: ICC West, Woods Family Community Center
• Olathe: Holiday Inn

Wednesday, November 28th:
1pm - 3pm & 6pm - 8pm

• Hays: Robbins Center at FHSU
• Wichita: WSU Metroplex
• Kansas City: Hilton Garden Inn

Thursday, November 29th:

1pm - 3pm & 6pm - 8pm

• Salina: Bicentennial Center
• El Dorado: Civic Center
• Emporia: Senior Center

If Medicaid enrollees cannot attend the above dates, they may register in advance to participate in a KanCare Educational webinar to be held December 14th 10am - 12pm.

KRS Stakeholders Meetings - Schedule

the note below comes from the Kansas Rehabilitation Services a division of the KS Dept. for Children and Families


KRS Stakeholders Meetings Announced
NOTICE OF STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS
   
Individuals and organizations interested in employment and independent living services for Kansans with disabilities are invited to participate in a series of regional Stakeholder Meetings to be hosted in November and December 2012 by Kansas Rehabilitation Services (KRS) Director Michael Donnelly.
         
KRS is a division of the Kansas Department for Children and Families. KRS is responsible for vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs for Kansans with disabilities.
     
During the meetings, KRS Director Michael Donnelly will discuss the four strategic goals of KRS.  These goals are:

• Kansans with disabilities will achieve quality competitive, integrated employment and self-sufficiency.
•  KRS, its providers and partners will be accountable for the achievement of employment and the effective use of resources.
• KRS will emphasize the employment potential of students with disabilities and improve the outreach and outcomes for transition-aged students.
•  KRS will emphasize the meaningful involvement of people with disabilities, public/private partners, employers and other stakeholders in KRS programs, services and activities.

     
Participants will be asked to share:

• Their knowledge and experience related to the needs of Kansans with disabilities
• Their views about the strengths of KRS programs and services
• Suggestions on ways to improve programs and customer service
• Opportunities for greater collaboration with other stakeholders and organizations

     
Input received will become part of the agency's comprehensive statewide needs assessment and will be used to update strategic goals and state plans.
     
Each of the meetings will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. according to the following schedule:
     
      November 20, 2012 ­ Topeka
      Pioneer Room, Maner Conference Center, 1717 SW Topeka Boulevard
     
      November 27, 2012 ­ Overland Park
      Johnson County Workforce Partnership Office, 9221 Quivira Road
     
      November 29, 2012 -- Wichita
      Sudermann Commons Room, Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North
      (Please enter through Door C on the east side of the building.)
     
      December 4, 2012 ­ Chanute
      3rd Floor, Memorial Hall, 101 S. Lincoln
     
      December 11, 2012 ­ Garden City
      Bunker Room, Kansas Department for Children and Families Service Center, 1710 Palace Drive
     
      December 12, 2012 -- Hays
      Expeditions Room, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, 3000 Sternberg Drive
     
 All meetings will be held in accessible locations and real-time captioning will be provided.  To request a reasonable accommodation (such as a sign language interpreter, Braille, large print, other special media or any other accommodation), please call toll-free 1-866-213-9079 <tel:1-866-213-9079> or toll-free TDD 1-800-432-0698 <tel:1-800-432-0698>  at least 10 days before the meeting you will be attending.
         
In case of inclement weather, please call to confirm the meeting: toll-free customer service line at 1-866-213-9079 <tel:1-866-213-9079>  or toll-free TDD 1-800-432-0698 <tel:1-800-432-0698> .

Back on Track: KanCare Updates

For those who follow the InterHab Insider we apologize for falling behind on posting relevant updates about the recent activity regarding KanCare.  Please see below for an important article published by KHI yesterday.

KanCare Update

Below is an article posted yesterday by KHI News Service.  While there has been some confusion as to the activity surrounding the auto-enrollment process for KanCare, it appears the goal of Kansas Department of Health and Environment (who administers the KS Medicaid program) is to have all KanCare enrollment packets mailed to Medicaid recipients by the end of November.  While long-term care supports for persons with I/DD have temporarily been carved out of the KanCare program, Medicaid recipients will still be auto-enrolled into KanCare for medical care.

The article below also includes an update regarding discussions between state officials and the federal entity Centers for Medicaid Services.  The state's KanCare program relies on approval from CMS of their request for an 1115 waiver.  The update provides an outline of conditions the state's KanCare plan would have to meet.

KHI News Service - November 14, 2012

Medicaid enrollees to have KanCare packets by month's end

Special Commentary in KC Star: Can Kansas get better results at lower cost?

Below is a special commentary posted in the KC Star written by Johnson County columnist Steve Rose:

This could easily be a column about “Kan-Scare,” rather than KanCare because there are so many uncertainties about a sweeping reform program in Kansas that starts Jan.1, 2013, pending final federal approval, that folks could rightly be very concerned about their future medical care.

On that date, Medicaid — medical care for the poor — will cease to exist in Kansas. In its place, the 350,000 Kansans — adults, children, elderly and the disabled — now served by Medicaid will become a part of a private, managed care program called KanCare.

Medicaid in Kansas has been a $3 billion outlay in state and federal funds. But by putting everything into private hands, the Brownback administration is claiming they will reduce expenditures by almost $1 billion over the next five years.

Just how those savings will occur is the big mystery. KanCare was concocted, according to The Wichita Eagle, “behind closed doors.”

It is undeniable Kansas Medicaid costs have been increasing at an unsustainable rate of 7.4 percent per year, way over the inflation rate. So, something dramatic had to happen.

And dramatic things will happen. You don’t cut the budget that much without experiencing some major upheaval.

According to Brownback’s administration, KanCare’s chief aim is to curb growth while improving outcomes.

Are both possible?

According to the proponents of KanCare, one of the primary targets for cost savings will be reducing the numbers of poor residing in nursing homes. The new managed care companies will be taking a hard look at “necessities” of health care, and one conclusion already reached...read more

KanCare Website Launched

Kansas officials launched the new website www.kancare.ks.gov this week. The website serves as a resource for both Medicaid beneficiaries and Medicaid providers.

CMS Public Comment Period - Round 2 Begins!

The public comment period for the Kansas 1115 waiver re-submission is officially open and will last until September 21.  Approval by the federal Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) of the 1115 waiver will enable Kansas officials to fully implement KanCare.

The link to the CMS Public Comment Forum for the Kansas 1115 Waiver re-submission is:

https://cmsideas.uservoice.com/forums/173237-section-1115-demonstration-kansas-kancare#/settings


Please note that the CMS public comment forum is much like a “talk back” section for online media, which includes a social media component, i.e. you can ‘vote’ for or concur with others’ posted comments.  You can concur a maximum of ten times.  Please note that your comments are limited to 5,000 words.  It is important to be concise in sharing your concerns with CMS.

All persons with developmental disabilities; family members of persons with DD; and professionals in the DD field are encouraged to provide feedback directly to CMS via this public comment forum.  You may recall having participated in this online forum before.  The state retracted it's original waiver submission to CMS due to an oversight to consult all tribal health organizations (as is required by the State of Kansas' tribal consultation policy).

The re-submission of the Kansas 1115 waiver request process now requires a second round of public comment opportunities.  While CMS has assured advocates that comments submitted during the previous public comment period were saved, it is very important that concerned Kansans once again express their thoughts directly to CMS.

KDADS Announces Additional Forums on KanCare

The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) will host additional informational sessions for persons receiving Medicaid services; family members of persons receiving services; and providers of Medicaid services.

From KDADS: "The purpose of these sessions are to provide updates and information about the implementation of the KanCare comprehensive managed care program effective January 1, 2013, and to respond to any questions you have."

It's important to note that long-term support services for Kansans with developmental disabilities are not scheduled to be wrapped into KanCare until 1 year after the program is initiated.  However, persons with DD and their families will still be auto-enrolled into the program from the beginning, due to the fact that medical services will be included in the KanCare managed care program.  For these reasons, recipients of service and providers of service alike are encouraged to continue attending any of these forum opportunities to learn more about the program, ask questions and express concerns!

As with the previous round of meetings, state officials are offering separate meetings for providers of service and recipients of service - all participants are asked to RSVP!

Please take a look at the attached document for details.