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.
