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Minutes for SB85 - Committee on Welfare Reform
Short Title
Directing the secretary for children and families to review and compare data for public assistance program eligibility.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 13, 2025
The Chair opened discussion on SB85.
The Chair noted that the bill deals with benefits that are administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) as well as fraud issues that involve the Medicaid Inspector General's Office of the Kansas Attorney General. Line by line in the bill, the Chair invited members to gain a deeper understanding of what data is currently in line with the bill and what reporting would be deficient if the bill were to become law. The bill would require DCF and KDHE to enter into data-matching agreements with federal and state agencies to compare data from the following agencies:
- Kansas Department of Corrections,
- Kansas Department of Labor,
- Kansas Department of Revenue,
- Kansas Lottery,
- Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission,
- Office of Vital Statistics,
- U.S.Department of Health and Human Services,
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and
- U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The following individuals were available to respond to members' questions and to offer background information;
- Dr. Carla Whiteside-Hicks, Director of Economic and Employment Services, Kansas Department for Children and Families;
- Christine Osterlund, Deputy Director of Operations and Medicaid Director, Kansas Department of Health and Environment; and
- Steven Anderson, Medicaid Inspector General, Office of the Attorney General.
The individuals identified the data and time sequence that currently matches the requirements of the bill; they outlined the specific data or time sequence needing to be updated in order to match the bill's requirements, and they noted the additional costs would be required for changes.
Dr. Whiteside-HIcks later provided follow-up information regarding what data is shared and what limitations would be encountered:
- Information from her testimony on February 5 (Attachment 1);
- Information from her testimony on March 6 (Attachment 2); and
- DCF staff Andrea Warnke sent information regarding the monthly review of records (Attachment 3).
The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
