American Heart Association – Kansas

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Laws at the state and local level creating smoke-free workplaces and all indoor public places, including restaurants and bars.

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Increased tobacco excise tax and more funding for smoking prevention and treatment programs.

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Mandated physical education and activity policies in schools as part of the solution for obesity and related chronic illness. The group also supports healthy food choices and nutrition education in schools, school health councils and coordinated school health programs.

For more information:

www.americanheart.org

Big Tent Coalition

The coalition includes 81 member organizations statewide that advocate and work to help the poor and disabled live independently. This session it seeks an additional $64.5 million in State General Fund spending mostly to provide in-home services. The group also seeks:

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A state declaration that Kansas policy is to move toward long-term care services that provide choice, independence and cost effectiveness, including a five-year program for reducing the number of people in institutions.

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Full funding for Medicaid with special attention to Home and Community Based Services. Also “adequate” funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Child Care Services

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Significant steps toward fully implementing the State Plan changes approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, particularly the Freedom of Choice waiver for mental health services and subsequent associate agreements. Also, the coalition wants a clear policy statement related to use of home and community based services.

For more information:

www.bigtentcoalition.org

Flint Hills Center for Public Policy

Formerly the Kansas Public Policy Institute, the non-profit think tank was founded in 1997. According to its mission statement, it is “dedicated to the constitutional principles of limited government, open markets, and individual freedom and responsibility.” The organization is based in Wichita and has a “strong belief in the ability of individuals to make intelligent decisions and a healthy skepticism about the ability of political bodies to make objective decisions when faced with the pressure of politics.” The center opposes government mandates.

Its legislative agenda includes:

* Expansion of Health Savings Accounts.

* Medicaid reform.

* Qualified support for he Kansas health insurance connector proposed by Gov. Jim Barnett. But more strongly endorses the concept of an “open health mart” as outlined by economist Michael Bond.

* Tighter eligibility requirements for Medicaid-financed long-term care.

For more information:

http://www.flinthills.org

Kansas Academy of Family Physicians

The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians is the medical specialty membership society representing the family physicians of Kansas. KAFP has more than 1,500 members, of which more than 890 are practicing physicians; 155 are resident-physician members, and the others are medical students and retired members.

For 2007, the organization supports:

* Legislation that addresses improved medical care, especially encouragement of the development and maintenance of a medical home, or accessible, continuous, coordinated primary care directed by a family physician for all Kansans.

* Various health efforts, including comprehensive smoking prevention, cessation and control; immunizations; and childhood obesity in Kansas.

* Full funding of the Medical Student Loan Program and initiatives that encourage students to enter family medicine.

* Activities, programs and legislation to encourage physicians to practice in rural and underserved areas and to retain their services once established there.

* Legislation that ensures adequate payment for physician services through state Medicaid programs to help insure adequate access to the healthcare system for those patients.

For more information:

Home

Kansas Action for Children

Kansas Action for Children was created by the three Junior Leagues of Kansas and the Kansas Children”s Service League in 1979. It is incorporated as a private, not-for-profit organization, and is a member organization of Voice’s for America’s Children. Its legislative priorities this year are:

* Expanding Kansas” newborn screening program

* Limiting student access to vending machines in schools

* Increasing the state”s childhood immunization rate

* Strengthening the state”s seat belt law

For more information:

http://www.kac.org/

Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved

KAMU plans to ask the 2007 Legislature for an additional $2.5 million to help fund 26 of its 32 member clinics statewide that serve the poor and uninsured:

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$1.35 million of that would expand existing services;

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$500,000 would expand dental services at eight clinics and begin services at four more;

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$500,000 would help launch new clinics in Hays, Independence, Wamego and other communities.

*
$150,000 would be used to recruit health professionals
dentists and dental hygienists especially
to underserved communities.

Currently, state funds account for about 10 percent of
the 26 clinics” operational budgets. The remaining six clinics do not receive state funds.

For more information:

http://www.kspca.org/

Kansas Chamber of Commerce

The state”s largest business organization has adopted the following health agenda aimed at reducing health care costs for its members:

*Rising health care costs are a significant concern for employers. For more Kansans to be insured, the cost of the entire health care system must be reduced. The Kansas Chamber will continue to support market-driven solutions to manage costs.

*Through promotion and use of health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts, qualified high deductible plans, cost and quality data and other means, work towards policies that encourage Kansans to take responsibility for their health care decisions and the use of their health care dollars.

*Continue to oppose any new health benefit mandates, no matter how well-intentioned they may appear, including a mandate for businesses to provide health insurance to all employees.

*Support health information technology as a way of improving the quality, safety and efficiency of the healthcare system and encourage the Legislature to enact policy that would further give consumers more power in deciding how their health information is used.

For more information

:

http://www.kansaschamber.org

Kansas Department of Health and Environment

The agency has several health-related priorities this session, including several changes in child-care licensing laws.

Child care licensing and enforcement

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Ban admissions to a child care facility or family day care home in lieu of suspending or revoking the facility”s license. An admissions ban would allow the facility to stay open while addressing violations and give the department another tool to gain compliance, KDHE officials said.

*
Restrict or limit terms of a child-care license as an intermediate sanction in lieu of closing the facility by suspending or revoking the license. In some cases, a provider has had difficulty caring for certain age children or groups of children while still providing adequate care for older children or smaller groups of children. Ability to limit the scope of the license to a certain age range or group size would provide the department an option other than suspending the facility”s license, officials said.

*
Lessen the criteria for imposing a civil penalty.
Currently, the criteria to revoke a license –the most severe sanction– consist simply of violating regulations. But, the criteria to assess a civil penalty –an intermediate sanction– require the violation “significantly and adversely affect the health, safety or sanitation of children.”
KDHE wants authority to assess a penalty for 1) repeat noncompliance found on multiple inspections or 2) for noncompliance that “affects the health, safety or sanitation of children.”
The current requirement that the noncompliance be “significant and adverse” should be removed, as it is a higher standard than the criteria to suspend or revoke a license.

*
Increase the time from one year to three years before a person can reapply for a child care facility license or family day care home certificate, if their license or certificate has been revoked.
After revocation, it is not unusual for providers to continue to stay open, which requires that KDHE pursue legal action. The current one-year waiting period following revocation to reapply is not long enough to be an effective deterrent and doesn”t provide enough time for the agency to prosecute an individual for providing child care without a license or certificate.

*
Adjust the fee schedule so renewal fees can be collected every three years to allow the department to move from an annual renewal
to a three-year renewal cycle.
Safeguards for children would not be reduced nor the frequency of inspections.

*
Allow KDHE to share results from KBI background checks with child placing agencies for purposes of screening adoptive and foster parents and allow the agency to obtain fingerprints for background checks in other states for prospective foster parents who have lived in Kansas five years or less. The foster parent or child placement agency would pay for the fingerprinting.

*
Clearly exclude from child care facility licensing family homes that have a signed adoptive placement agreement. That would streamline placing children in permanent homes and remove the current licensing requirement. SRS also endorses the proposal. Currently, there are differing requirements in provisions of the Child Care Licensing Act and the Kansas Code for Care of Children, which creates confusion. Adding language to exclude from licensure homes that have an adoptive placement agreement would solve that problem.

Cancer Registry

Expand allowable uses of confidential data in the Kansas Cancer Registry (KCR) to allow independent follow-up on cancer cases for public health purposes.
This would allow the department to, among other things, follow up with patients on their quality of life, past cancer screening practices, and assess potential cancer clusters in a specific geographical area.

This would strengthen cancer surveillance system in Kansas by obtaining population-based data/information on additional aspects of cancer currently not collected.
The ability to follow up with cancer patients would help public health officials identify and understand the correlation between various cancers and possible risk factors. Passage also would aid in KU Medical Center”s efforts to obtain a comprehensive cancer research center designation from the federal government.

Newborn Screening

Expand the number of newborn metabolic screening tests from the current four to 29, including a newborn hearing test. At the behest of the 2006 legislature, the department convened an advisory group to draft a plan for expanded screening.
This proposal results from a collaborative process among the stakeholders, including insurance groups, Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

The proposal is to charge $30 per live birth to pay for the expanded screening and any follow-up or repeat tests needed. To address treatment of any conditions that may be found, the department will request an additional $191,000 from the State General Fund.

Lodging Inspection Program

Create a dedicated Lodging Inspection Fee Fund and permit deposit of all revenues (approximately $52,000) collected from lodging establishments into the fund; and allow the KDHE secretary to set lodging application and license fees by regulation.
Currently, lodging fees are set by statute and have not been changed since 1978.

There are 769 licensed lodging establishments in Kansas. In the past eight years, inspections of the facilities have declined by about 75 percent because of a decline in agency resources and its focus on food safety, necessitated by the 2002 Legislative Post Audit report.
The decrease in inspections has resulted in increased complaints and potential for illness, which could ultimately hurt tourism, agency officials said.

For more information:

KDHE’s2007 Health Policy Initiatives

Kansas Health Consumer Coalition

This statewide group advocates for expanding affordable, accessible and quality health care. Its 2007 agenda includes:

*
Increasing ways to
reduce debt incurred due to health care expenses.

* Promoting health care accessibility within Medicaid so that citizenship and identity documentation is not a barrier to access.

*
Improving accessibility and affordability of health insurance for small businesses by reducing barriers faced in providing coverage to employees.

*
Strengthening access to and availability of affordable prescription medications.

* Expanding health insurance coverage to all children ages 0-5 and promoting low-cost insurance options.

Kansas Health Policy Authority

The health policy board is an independent agency created by the Legislature in 2005. In July 1, 2006 it assumed control of the state”s Medicaid and state employees health benefit programs. The agency is charged with developing and maintaining a coordinated health policy agenda for the state and promoting public health strategies. It also is tasked with collecting health data and is expected at a later date to assume oversight of Kansas mental health services and long-term care programs.

The authority is governed by a 15-member board, nine of whom are voting members appointed by the governor or legislative leaders. The board also includes six, non-voting,
ex officio members, including the secretaries of the departments of aging, social and rehabilitation services, administration, and health and environment. The state health director and insurance commissioner also are ex officio members. The board “s current chairperson is Connie Hubbell. The executive director is Marcia Nielsen.

The agency occupies the ninth and part of the 10th floors of the Landon State Office Building in Topeka.

According to Nielsen, here are the agency”s 2007 legislative priorities:

* Money for additional staff for the Medicaid Eligibility Clearinghouse to process applications within the mandated timelines and do quality reviews of HealthWave determinations. The agency seeks four additional full-time positions and 17 contract workers to be paid for with a supplemental request for fiscal year 2007 of $496,000
SGF and an enhancement of $573,000 SGF for fiscal year 2008. “New federal guidelines regarding citizenship and identification requirements have placed an unfunded burden on our Clearinghouse resulting in 1,552 Medicaid beneficiaries losing coverage at the time of their annual review, 1,174 new applicants’ denial, and delayed or abandoned applications for thousands more as of October. Hiring new staff is the only solution,” Nielsen said.

* Money to complete staffing and infrastructure to operate the authority as the single state agency responsible for the Medicaid program. The agency seeks $531,000 in supplemental SGF funding for fiscal 2007 to hire 22 additional staff. It also wants another $813,000 SGF in fiscal 2008 for 20 more employees. Positions in the supplemental request are mainly in the areas of finance, accounting, and oversight.

* Develop a data management and policy analysis program that promotes data-driven health policy decisions, improving health care efficiency, lowering health care costs, and improving overall health. For fiscal 2008, the agency seeks $385,000 to contract for development of a data analytic interface that will bring various data sets together and provide staff with tools to access the data quickly and in more meaningful ways. “Using data to analyze the efficiency and quality of health care services will enhance the ability of the state to better control health care costs in the public and potentially private sector,” Nielsen said.

* An estimated $4 million to $6 million for Healthy Kansas First Five Program, originally proposed by the governor last year. The authority has endorsed the program because it would expand access to health care for children.

* Continuation of statewide Health Information Exchange projects and support of HIE initiatives in other agencies, through information sharing and collaboration ($373,000 SGF / $623,000 All Funds for fiscal 2008.)

* Provide greater health information transparency for consumers by establishing a two-phase initiative to collect and make available to consumers information about health-care resources and health-care costs ($150,000 SGF).

* Dental services to adults currently enrolled in the Kansas Medicaid program ($3.5 million SGF / $8.8 million All Funds).

* Provide childhood obesity counseling through Kansas Medicaid, which would include incentives for primary care providers to monitor body mass index, diet and physical activity ($590,000 SGF / $1,475,000 All Funds).

* Increase awareness and education efforts about health and wellness and Medicaid eligibility ($337,000 SGF / $823,000 All Funds).

* Develop a Long Term Care Partnership program between the authority, as the Medicaid agency, and the Kansas Insurance Department to encourage people to purchase long term care insurance policies ($104,000 SGF / $208,000 All Funds).

For more information:

www.khpa.ks.gov

Kansas Public Health Association

The Kansas Public Health Association has members from all areas of public health in the state. This year, they plan to follow these issues:

*
Tobacco issues: The Association would like to see statewide clean indoor air laws; smoking bans on hospital campuses, increased tobacco excise taxes and a requirement for insurers to cover medications that help smokers quit.

*
More funding for public health in Kansas.

*
Use Master Settlement Agreement funds for public health. Kansas has received $400 million under an agreement between tobacco companies and states. Almost all of the money is currently distributed by the state to social and education programs; the public health association would like to see more of the MSA funds used for tobacco prevention.

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Start thinking of ways to create multi-county or regional health departments.

For more information:

www.kpha.us

Kansas Medical Society

The organization that represent Kansas doctors is still working on its legislative agenda. Watch this space for later updates.

For more information:

www.kmsonline.org

.

National Association of the Mentally Ill Kansas

NAMI advocates for and supports the mentally ill and their families. Its legislative agenda for 2007 includes:

*
Addressing the shortage of psychiatric hospital beds

*
Proposing an “intermediate level of care” based on a regional system of psychiatric beds

*
Improving community-based supports for those who are seriously ill through the implementation of Assertive Community Treatment

*
Obtaining dedicated funding for the development and support of Crisis Intervention Teams as part of a larger jail diversion strategy

*
Action on the recommendations of the Parity Task Force designed to expand insurance coverage for the treatment of mental illness

*
Educating members of the Legislature about the principal findings of the NAMI “state ratings” report

For more information:

www.nami.org

Oral Health Kansas

Oral Health Kansas is a statewide coalition formed in 2003 to improve the oral health status of Kansans. Its approximately 130 members include advocacy organizations, private dentists and hygienists, community clinics and educational institutions. The coalition”s 2007 advocacy agenda includes:

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Expanding eligibility for Medicaid”s adult dental program

*
Extending Medicaid dental services to persons on the Frail Elderly waiver

*
Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers

*
Increasing the Medicaid provider network

*
Expanding the ability of hygienists to provide preventive care

*
Ensuring continued funding of community dentistry residency program

*
Expanding dental services offered through safety-net clinics

*
Developing funding for a dental workforce recruitment program

For more information:

http://www.oralhealthkansas.org

Safe Kids Kansas

Safe Kids Kansas Inc., is a coalition of more than
60 statewide and regional organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing unintentional injuries to Kansas children. Preventable injury remains the leading killer of Kansas children ages 1-14, taking more lives than any other cause including diseases, homicide and suicide.

The group adopted these legislative priorities Dec. 5, 2006:

*
Support efforts to educate the public about belt positioning booster seats and increase availability of boosters for children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds in vehicles equipped with lap/shoulder belts.

*
Legislation to prohibit leaving children unattended in motor vehicles.

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Continuation of the statewide juvenile fire-setter prevention and education program.

*
Support efforts to educate policy makers and the public regarding safe school bus issues.

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Support legislation and policies to restrict children”s access to firearms.

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Support local coalitions and community groups in efforts to enact comprehensive and enforceable bicycle helmet ordinances

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Support legislation strengthening state child passenger restraint laws and improving their enforcement.

Click here for Safe Kids Kansas’ full agenda.

For more information:

www.kdheks.gov/safekids/

Tobacco Free Kansas

Tobacco Free Kansas works to reduce the economic and physical harm caused by tobacco use. On its agenda for 2007:

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Asking for an unexpected $15.5 million available in 2007 as part of the Master Settlement Agreement to be used for comprehensive, science-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs implemented at the community level.

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Clean indoor air laws at both state and local levels

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Significant increases in tobacco excise taxes

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Implementation of a comprehensive cancer control plan that includes tobacco use prevention and cessation.

For more information:

www.tobaccofreekansas.org

Also, see
more at:

http://www.khi.org/s/index.cfm?aid=205

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