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Minutes for HB2463 - Committee on Health and Human Services
Short Title
Prohibiting changes to the medical assistance program and requiring the extension of the current medical assistance program.
Minutes Content for Wed, Jan 26, 2022
Rachelle Colombo, Executive Director, Kansas Medical Society, provide neutral testimony on HB2463 (Attachment10). Kansas physicians believe in providing high quality access to care to all Kansans. The vast majority continue to participate in Medicaid and dedicate a portion of their practice to this patient population even though these patients are often highly complex. The physicians continue to participate while the physician fee schedule has remained frozen since 2006, in spite of increase cost of care and growth in utilization. This is not sustainable. HB2463 would hinder the ability to adjust the fee schedule. This will have an adverse impact to access of care for KanCare participants. The Kansas Medical Society is ready to work with the legislature on seeking fiscally sustainable funding for our state's Medicaid program.
Tara Mays, Vice President of State Legislative Affairs, Kansas Hospital Association (KHA), provided neutral testimony on HB2463 (Attachment 11). KHA is concerned of the impact of the bill may have on The Health Care Access Improvement Program (HCAIP) which uses assessment payments to draw down additional federal funds for the Kansas Medicaid program. With the Legislature's direction, KHA and KDHE have worked to determine the amount of the shortfall that HCAIP overspent when KanCare was implemented. Because the spending is capped under the current waiver, approval for changes to HCAIP have not been secured from CMS. The bill would delay any opportunities for these changes. There is also a concern regarding "substantive and material changes" as stated in the bill. This would lock current fees, prevent the use of new drugs and treatments, and impact the state's ability to address telehealth related changes.
The following provided written-only neutral testimony:
Kyle Kessler, Executive Director, Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas (Attachment 12)
The hearing on HB2463 was closed.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:42 PM.
