March
24, 2003
The
House and Senate committees passed their versions of the mega bills out on
Friday. The major changes had to do with salary increases for State employees.
The Full House and Senate will debate the bills tomorrow.
We also understand that Governor Sebelius will be offering her Revenue proposal
late tomorrow afternoon. We don't know what impact that will have on the
bills in the House and Senate, but we'll keep you updated.
The other big issue is the Workers Comp bill, which appears to have a big
coalition opposed to it including labor, Nurses Association, and others who
tend to be our friends. The supporter is the Chamber of Commerce who is not
always looking out for the best interest of employees. Keep an eye on
that one. Could have, (No probably will have) negative impact on disabled
workers.
Next up is the Report from the President's Task Force on Medicaid Reform.
Sen. Stan Clark chaired this committee. The executive summary has some
scary points to it. You can access the full report by going to http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/2003_Medicaid_Final_Rpt.pdf.
You'll
need acrobat reader to open it.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Task Force recommends the following items for immediate action:
Legislative Action Items
- Allow the state to establish a lien on the real property of Medicaid
recipients.
- Change the definition of estate to include jointly owned property.
- Prohibit property owners applying for Medicaid from specifying a percent-
age
ownership of jointly owned property.
- Require that discretionary trusts be considered a countable resource for
public
assistance.
- Limit the scope of life contracts established between Medicaid recipients and
family members.
- Institute a refundable tax credit for long-term care insurance premiums.
Regulatory Action Items
- Extend the look-back period for transfers of non-trust property to five years
and
apply any resulting penalty
period to begin with month of application.
- Adopt current federal minimum limits on the exempted value of non- business
property and the value of vehicles.
- Replace the blanket exemption of all personal effects and furnishings with a
$15,000 limit.
- Request a Cash and Counseling Section 1115 Waiver from the federal
government.
- Install requested edits on the new Medicaid Management Information System:
- Undertake a study of care management for multiple diagnosis and dual
eligible recipients; and
- Additional actions on completion of the
edits should be pursued.
- Undertake a study of prescription drug
use in Kansas nursing homes.
More to come....
Gina