HUTCHINSON– While police were looking for a Kansas man who ran from a traffic stop, they discovered a home and garage that contained drug and drug paraphernalia.

Police suspected a man who ran from the stop might be hiding in the garage.

Johnathon Carson, 32, Hutchinson, was standing outside the garage and denied knowing whether anyone was inside.

Items consistent with drugs were found leading to a search of the garage and the home, according to police.

Carson admitted that he had a shotgun inside the garage. Police found the gun, which had a modified barrel.

They also found digital scales and baggies with meth residue.

Potential charges include possession of methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of a firearm, criminal use of a weapon, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
In court, Carson asked for a bond reduction, however the state objected because of his convictions involving drugs including unlawfully manufacturing, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Bryson Pallen, 24, was also arrested at the home and faces potential charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond set at $7,500.

By Megan Hart

Federal officials found fault with the way Kansas had screened people for admission to psychiatric hospitals, but left the door open for the state to divert patients if it reforms its screening procedure.

Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed a section in Senate Bill 161 that would have reinstated a requirement that Medicaid recipients be screened before admitting them for inpatient psychiatric treatment. Brownback said he supports the screenings, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have threatened to reduce state funding for health programs by up to $1.8 million because of the requirement.

The issue is parity. Under federal law, insurers, including Medicaid programs, can’t put restrictions on mental health and substance abuse benefits that don’t exist for comparable medical or surgical benefits. A CMS official, who declined to be identified, said it appears to be a violation to require a person to be screened before he or she can be admitted for inpatient psychiatric care, but not to require a similar screening for a person being admitted for a physical condition.

CMS didn’t rule out requiring mental health screenings, but the state would need to have other, unspecified “criteria” that would ease concerns about parity, the official said. Both CMS and Brownback’s office said they are discussing ways that the state could conduct some form of screening without violating parity.

“Other states use a prescreening process to make recommendations regarding admission, but more often whether to divert to community services,” the CMS official said. “Our understanding is that Kansas proposed to use this process to make a decision regarding admission to an inpatient facility, and payment for that admission. There was no such requirement on the medical/surgical side for any inpatient admissions.”

Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said CMS considers the screening for Medicaid recipients a form of prior authorization. KDADS changed its screening policy in October 2015 so that screenings wouldn’t be required before a person covered by Medicaid could be admitted for inpatient mental health treatment in a private or community hospital, she said.

“Kansas received anecdotal feedback that the screens, in some instances, were creating unnecessary delays in access to treatment for hospitals with psychiatric units,” she said.

Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, said he was disappointed in Brownback’s decision to veto restoring the screenings, and hopes Kansas will make the case that its screenings are an appropriate way to place people who need mental health treatment in the least restrictive setting possible.

“We would argue the screening process has been diversionary,” he said. “It seems like this is something that can be fixed.”

The current procedure is for medical staff at the hospital to determine if the person needs to be hospitalized, de Rocha said. The three managed care organizations that administer KanCare still could determine that a hospital stay wasn’t necessary and decide whether to pay fully for the care, she said.

Kessler said he has heard some concerns that private inpatient beds have been filling up, because the people present at the screenings aren’t also aware of what community resources are available. In some cases, that leads to people being admitted to state hospitals, because local inpatient facilities don’t have space, he said.

Kansas’ community mental health centers still screen people before they are admitted to the state psychiatric hospitals at Osawatomie and Larned. Those hospitals only accept people who are determined to be a danger to themselves or others. That appears not to create a parity issue because no equivalent concept exists when it comes to physical conditions: People who don’t manage their diabetes may be putting their health in danger, but the state can’t force them to stay in a hospital until their blood sugar is under control.

Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC

HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Harvey County have arrested a suspect in connection with a serious of burglaries and a high-speed chase that sent two officers to the hospital.

Jacob Cox, 30,was formally charged with four counts of burglary and four counts of theft, according to the Harvey County Sheriff’s office Additional charges are expected.

Just after 10p.m. on March 8, two law enforcement officers were injured in the accident during a pursuit.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Harvey County Sheriff 2015 Chevy Tahoe driven by Deputy James Slickers, 43, Halstead, followed by a Kansas Highway Patrol 2015 Dodge Charger driven by Trooper Joseph Owen, 33, Newton, were southbound on Hertzler Road four miles west of Sedgwick attempting to stop a fleeing vehicle.

Sheriff Deputies had responded to multiple vehicle burglaries in the 2300 block of N. Oliver Road. While speaking with the victims of the burglaries a call came out of another burglary occurring at the Newton City-County Airport.

Deputies approaching the area observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed away from the airport. Deputies pursued the vehicle, a Ford Escape stolen from Butler County.

During the course of the chase, the driver threw numerous objects from the vehicle including a shotgun, rifle, and paperwork belonging to the earlier reported vehicle burglaries. The driver avoided three sets of spike sticks placed at various locations in Harvey County. Speeds reached 100 mph.

When the suspect’s vehicle slowed to turn onto Southwest 84th, the Charger rear-ended the Tahoe.
The collision caused the Deputy’s vehicle to spin into a ditch and hit a telephone pole. The Trooper’s vehicle was disabled on the roadway.
Slickers and Owen were transported to Newton Medical Center with minor injuries.
The chase continued into Sedgwick County where Deputies lost sight of the suspect vehicle in the area of Tyler and 77th.
A citizen called to report a vehicle in a field at 73rd and Ridge road. The vehicle was the Ford Escape that had been in the chase. The driver of the vehicle was not located. Inside the Ford Escape were numerous weapons and stolen property, including a $14,000 airplane prop from the earlier burglaries.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Republican lawmakers are suggesting that the Kansas Legislature turn the job of determining how state aid to public schools is distributed over to the State Board of Education.

Reps. Gene Suellentrop of Wichita and Marvin Kleeb of Overland Park raised the idea during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on a school funding plan from the panel’s chairman.

The 10-member board would then face the burden of making sure the money is distributed fairly.

The plan is designed to bring the state into compliance with a Kansas Supreme Court order last month saying have been unfairly shorted on their state aid.

The plan would boost overall state spending on schools by nearly $39 million for the 2016-17 school year while shifting dollars among districts. Seventy-nine would still lose funds.