Membership Reminder: The renewal deadline for your KHCA/KCAL membership is March 31st. We strive to give you a highly-valued return on your dues investment, and we look forward to serving you in the year ahead. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your membership status, please contact Kristin Plantz kplantz@khca.org.

A Message from the President & CEO Linda MowBray: Our Kansas Commitment

Today is Friday, March 14, 2025, and with it brings day 41 of this Legislative Session. Now starts the two-week count down until the end of the 2025 regular legislative session.

SB 88 – Requiring the state long-term care ombudsman and regional ombudsman to receive training in memory care.

Passed out of the House on a vote of 121 to 1 and will be sent on to the Governor for signage.

Sub for HB2007 - Legislative Budget

Legislative Budget- including full rebase and $20 per day Medicaid add-on for Nursing Homes. The bill continued having hearings from different agencies all last week and our full rebase and $20 per day Medicaid add-on is still intact. The bill will be heard by the Senate next week.

HB2392 - Facilitating nursing workforce development by setting maximum education levels for instructors at nursing schools as a requirement for state approval.

The House Committee of the whole heard the bill on Thursday, March 13, 2025. After a small technical amendment was made, the Committee of the Whole recommended it be passed as amended. In a stunning move prompted by objections from the Kansas State Board of Nursing, a vote was held to reconsider. This was adopted and the bill was withdrawn from the calendar and returned to the House Health and Human Services Committee. The bill is now essentially dead for the year.

SB 276 –

Removing the state fire marshal from the adult care home licensure act and the providers of disability services act and requiring the state fire marshal to complete training in person-centered care and responding to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A new hearing date has yet to be set and the bill is presumed to be dead for the year.

On Thursday, March 13, 2025, KHCA/KCAL and Leading Age Kansas participated in a joint effort at an informational hearing in the House Social Services Budget Committee on a Staffing Agency 101. The information was well received and invoked many questions from the committee. Click here for our testimony. Click here for the live hearing.

The next Bob Bethell Joint HCBS and KanCare Oversight Committee will be April 14, 2025. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are having issues with KanCare or the MCOs so we may bring them to the Committee’s attention.

Thank you for trusting us to be your voice in the legislature. As always, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you.

Linda MowBray, President/CEO

lmowbray@khca.org

(785) 267-6003

Kansas PASRR Level II Evaluation Training Announcement

New for PASRR! Acentra Health is Kansas’ new Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) Level II Evaluation vendor.  Beginning April 1, 2025, referrals for PASRR Level II evaluations will be entered in Acentra Health’s online PASRR provider portal, Atrezzo. Documents can be uploaded directly to the Level II evaluation case. Case statuses can be tracked and once reviewed and completed by KDADS staff, the Level II determinations can be viewed, printed, and easily stored in individual nursing home files.

Acentra’s provider portal will be available for submissions beginning April 1, 2025. Acentra will be providing comprehensive training to assist nursing facilities in registering and using the new portal, available soon at https://portal.Acentra.com. Please see below for training dates and times. To request an invite, please contact Acentra at KSPASRR@Acentra.com. For more information, including documentation checklists and updated release of information forms (below), visit http://KSPASRR.Acentra.com. 

KDADS 2025 ROI with Instructions

2025 CARE Level I Assessment Fillable

KANCARE MCO “HEALTHY BLUE” MAY NOT REQUIRE PRIOR AUTHORIZATION FOR NURSING HOME ADMISSION

KHCA/KCAL Advocating for You!

A member asked:

“Have other providers mentioned that Healthy Blue is trying to have all nursing homes have prior authorization before admitting a resident?

Please take a look at the attached form they want us to use.”

We went to work contacting KDHE to learn more about this prior authorization.

“Good Morning, Secretary Stanek. One of my larger members sent this prior authorization form that Health Blue says they must use before nursing home admission is approved for their members. Because the nursing home program is an entitlement, I'm concerned that prior auth could create delays for admission plus the State CARE/PASRR program is already in place to determine appropriateness of placement. Can you advise?”

This was the response from KDHE:

"You are correct that Healthy Blue should not have required prior authorization for a nursing home admission. Our managed care team has reached out to Healthy Blue to ensure they are correctly following Kansas Medicaid policy and Healthy Blue will be correcting the process."

If you have any other issues or concerns, please feel free to connect.

Fighting For You and The Future of LTC

Medicaid Continues to Be Priority Focus

We are in an unprecedented time. There is so much happening every day. Ongoing changes, proposals, orders, and policies have the potential to impact member providers and residents –both positively and negatively – across the country. AHCA/NCAL is working hard on your behalf, so let’s jump right into it.

Click here to read more on:

• MEDICAID
• ADDITIONAL UPDATES FROM CAPITOL HILL
• UPCOMING EVENTS

Bipolar Awareness, Staffing Updates & Free Resources

In This Issue

• World Bipolar Day: Raising Awareness and Combating Stigma
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Launches National Campaign to Boost Nursing Home Staffing and Care Quality
• Nursing Facility Guidance: Revised Guidance for Surveyors
• COE-NF In-Action Consultation Summary: A Strategic Approach to Comorbidity Treatment
• Office Hours
• Managing Substance Use Disorders in Nursing Facilities 
• CARES® Serious Mental Illness™
• COE-NF Resources
• Bipolar Disorder Facts 
• Overcoming Stigma in Mental Health 
• Did You Know?
• Save the Date: Upcoming Training
• You Matter

Click here to read more.

Dietary As a Business Virtual Workshop

March 26, 2025 - 1:00PM - 5:00PM

Have you ever followed a fork through a kitchen? Ralph Peterson has, and his findings are surprising. On average, a fork is touched 16 times throughout the day, and only three of those times are when the resident is using it. In this dynamic and insightful workshop, Ralph breaks down all the processes in a kitchen – revealing secrets on how to eliminate waste, increase consistency, and create a culture of excellence. The focus of this workshop is on transforming dietary services from a routine necessity into a thriving, efficient (business) operation.

Click here to learn more.

Webinar: Incident Management

3/18/25 - 1:30PM -2:30PM

Click here for more details.

Aging Services Day



3/24/25 - 8:30AM - 4:00PM

Click here for more details.

Dietary as a Business Virtual Workshop

3/26/25 - 1:00PM -5:00PM

Click here for more details.

2025 Spring Joint Provider Workshop

April 2nd - Wichita Event Registration Link 

April 3rd - Topeka Event Registration Link 

April 3rd Virtual Event Registration Link 

Webinar: F684 - Quality of Care

4/8/25 - 1:30PM -2:30PM

Click here for more details.

Webinar: Falls & Accidents

4/15/25 - 1:30PM -2:30PM

Click here for more details.

Assisted Living Conference

4/25/25 - 8:30AM -4:00PM

Click here for more details.