By ANDY MARSO

After four years of filling out four different sets of paperwork to join Kansas Medicaid, or KanCare, health care providers will soon only have to fill out one.

State officials announced that they are standardizing the credentialing process for the three private insurance companies that administer KanCare, as well as the state’s own provider forms.

The move comes after a raft of providers told a legislative oversight committee last month that the current process is tedious and duplicative.

“We have listened to providers’ comments and the direction we received from the KanCare oversight committee and are making the system more user-friendly for the providers,” said Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer.

Sen. Laura Kelly, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said the credentialing process could have been streamlined earlier, but the Republican-led committee didn’t have the political will to demand it of the Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration and the KanCare companies.

She said the committee served as “more of a cheerleader” for KanCare until members saw Democrats and moderate Republicans make election-year gains on discontent with Brownback.

“I don’t think we performed as an oversight committee the first few years since we were in place,” Kelly said. “I think that has just come, quite honestly, since the primary when I think a lot of folks got the message that this is important and we want it to work right.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for KCUR’s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
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KDADS

TOPEKA — Lt. Governor Dr. Jeff Colyer has announced an agreement between the KanCare managed care organizations (MCOs) and the state to standardize the credentialing process for KanCare providers.

“We have listened to providers’ comments and the direction we received from the KanCare oversight committee, and are making the system more user-friendly for the providers,” Dr. Colyer said. “We are going to see a simpler, more efficient, cost-effective process with a central enrollment point for providers. It’s good for providers, good for the MCOs and ultimately good for Kansans. We are again leading the way in Medicaid reform.”

Currently each KanCare MCO and KMAP (the Kansas Medical Assistance Program which tracks providers) use similar application forms, but enroll and credential providers differently. Providers have to supply the same pieces of information multiple times in order to sign on with each MCO and be entered into KMAP. Additionally, without a central enrollment point, KDHE has no effective way to monitor the KanCare provider network.

“Kansas’ strategy is to simplify the steps providers must go through to become credentialed and enrolled, and make it less cumbersome,” KDHE Secretary Dr. Susan Mosier said. “The agreement Dr. Colyer announced will relieve KanCare providers of a redundant administrative burden.”

The state’s plan to revamp and standardize its credentialing process includes:

· KDHE and the department’s Division of Health Care Finance (DHCF) created a workgroup comprised of state staff and provider groups such as the Kansas Hospital Association and Kansas Medical Society. Members of those organizations participated in planning sessions, reviewed credentialing forms and provided feedback on the on the way the online portal functions. This workgroup successfully standardized the Disclosure of Ownership (DOO) form and is working to standardize the additional application forms.

· Providers will be able to post credentialing and enrollment information in one location, eliminating the need to supply information multiple times. The providers upload their documents and the MCOs are able to view those documents as needed. The new credentialing process will include standardized forms posted to KDHE’s Provider Enrollment portal or to the national CAQH repository (whichever the provider prefers).

· Providers will be able to enroll through one central portal in KDHE’s new Kansas Modular Medicaid Management Information System (KMMS). All providers are to enroll through this portal, which will fulfill the Federal Managed Care Regulations requirement.

· The process will be streamlined through the use of automated workflows. Providers will be able to direct the path of their application to one or more MCOs at the time of application.

· KDHE/DHCF is working with its fiscal agent, HPE, on these provider enrollment changes, as we implement Kansas’ new KMMS.

The new process will be in place by January 1, 2018.