(Feb. 5, 2026) – Today, the House Welfare Reform Committee held an informational discussion regarding a carryover bill from 2025. House Bill 2240 prohibits state agencies from implementing or expanding any public federal assistance program without legislative approval.

The committee heard from Christine Osterlund of Medicaid, who walked them through current data-sharing practices. Ms. Osterlund highlighted the following:

• The data currently used for verification, sources and frequency of determination and re-determinations
• Which elements are verified for eligibility, including Social Security, citizenship and immigration status
• Which elements are verified for redetermination eligibility, including bank assets, income/wages, Social Security benefits, unemployment and Kansas Public Employees Retirement System
• Which documentation types are accepted for citizenship, residency, income, employment and household size
• Federal limitations on requesting more data than needed to process eligibility
• The income verification process through Equifax data
• The history and costs of eligibility determinations through Equifax, highlighting that Equifax received a question from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services about the costs in December 2025.
• The pilot program allowing Kansas Medicaid to use Gainwell Technologies as its fiscal agent
• How multiple-state enrollment is handled
• New processes related to how the agency is working with CMS on immigration file checks
• Eligibility quality control measures
• Payment error rates

The committee next heard from Marc Altenbernt with the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

The committee will continue meeting next week.