Kansas has formally asked the federal government for permission to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program.

Gov. Sam Brownback’s office has declined to discuss its

application for a waiver of federal Medicaid rules until an

afternoon news conference. But the federal Center for Medicare and

Medicaid Services tells The Associated Press it has received the

application.

Brownback plans to turn over the state’s $2.9 billion-a-year

Medicaid program to three private, managed-care companies, starting

Jan. 1, 2013. The administration plans to issue contracts this

summer, though it has promised to delay including long-term

services for the developmentally disabled until Jan. 1, 2014.

The federal government must approve some changes because it

provides a majority of the funds for Medicaid, which covers health

care for the poor, needy and disabled.