Kansas Community Supports Waiver Takes Effect: 500 Enrolled in First Year for Home-Based Disability Services
TOPEKA — Kansas' new Community Supports Waiver took effect on Oct. 1, after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waiver, Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) announced. CMS approved the waiver on July 1, and it operates concurrently with an amendment to the KanCare managed care waiver. Projected enrollment is 500 individuals for the first waiver year, running through Sept. 30, 2027.
The waiver serves Kansans ages 5 and older with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities who do not require 24-hour support but would otherwise need services in an intermediate care facility. Developed with input from the Legislature's 2022 Special Committee on I/DD Waiver Modernization, it offers flexible, right-sized supports — including individual employment support, personal care services and respite care — to help people live more independently at home and in their communities and pursue competitive integrated employment.
"The approval represents what is possible through collaboration, forward-thinking, and putting the needs of Kansans first," Kelly said. Officials note that a related existing program has a waitlist of an estimated 5,300 people; KDADS is urging those waiting the longest to apply, though some advocates worry a $20,000 annual cap may not cover everyone's needs.
Source:Kansas Office of the Governor; KDADS (via Kansas News Service)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 堪萨斯州议会大厦穹顶（托皮卡），CC BY 2.0，摄影：America's Power（Wikimedia Commons）
