By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard and Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman Monday announced at the Hays DCF office a new partnership that will locate KDHE employees in DCF offices.
KDHE is moving processing of Medicaid applications from a private contractor back under state control. It will take a year to completely make the transition. Eventually 350 once private employees will be employed by KDHE.
Thirty KDHE employees who will determine eligibility for Medicaid will now be located in 17 DCF offices across the state. One of these employees will be in the Hays DCF office. The Hays and Wichita offices will be the first to receive the KDHE employees as of this week.
Howard and Norman said in a press release that the move will foster collaboration around the KanCare application process for the elderly and people with disabilities. It is also designed to improve efficiencies and expand the reach of both agencies.
“This is just one way we want to bring a high-touch approach back for Kansas citizens,” Howard said during the press conference.
Norman said, “We’re pulling a bunch of these services back into the state to provide more customer service.”
Norman said in the press conference most Medicaid applications are being processed in the 45 days required by federal law. However, he said he hopes the changes will improve approval times beyond the federal standards.
“I’ve always believed that our DCF offices can be an important connection point for Kansans who need services,” Howard said in the news release. “This new partnership is a first step in providing a more efficient experience for those who need assistance with the complicated KanCare application process.”
“As an agency, we are continually looking for opportunities to collaborate and improve the stakeholder experience,” Norman said in a news release. “By co-locating, we are making good use of existing state office space and extending our reach across the state.”
Elderly and disabled KanCare applications are among the most complex. Under the new partnership, KDHE employees will initially spend most of their time processing home and community-based service applications.
“These complicated cases take a special approach,” Norman said. “You wouldn’t go to a family physician, necessarily, to have a brain tumor removed. You would go to someone who is highly specialized in that area. The population that Sec. Howard spelled out is a group that needs a specialist in that area. There is a fairly lengthy training process involved in that.”
The KDHE employees also will be available to work with DCF staff on complicated cases. Once the full transition is complete in mid-2020, it is expected that KDHE staff will be able to meet face to face with Kansans who need help navigating the KanCare application process.
“I believe this collaboration with DCF will result in positive outcomes for Kansans,” Norman said in the news release.
Norman said during the press conference Monday KDHE is also working to update technology to make the KanCare application process more efficient. He said the system is still requesting information through fax, and most people no longer use fax machines.
Other offices that will have KDHE employees include:
- Kansas City and Overland Park in August
- Emporia, Great Bend and Newton in September
- Manhattan and Pittsburg in October
- Atchison, Chanute and Salina in November
- Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson and Liberal in December
- Independence in Jan. 2020
As more KDHE staff are hired, the agencies plan to expand to other DCF offices that have available space.
“I’ve heard first hand from our workers how excited they are to have KDHE staff in the same office,” Howard said in the news release. “We know this is an important step in helping Kansans connect with services that are vital to their well-being.”