(March 10, 2023) – Today, the Joint Rules and Regulations Committee, chaired by Senator Kellie Warren (R-Leawood), heard from Cody Bebout, assistant general counsel, Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, on a proposed change to K.A.R. 100-15-1, and Christine Osterland, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, on a proposed change to KAR-129-6-88.

Bebout highlighted one change in K.A.R. 100-15-1. K.A.R. 100-15-1 allows a resident with an active license to have a second job for more hours and experience and sets the expiration date annually for June 30 each year. Following questions, the committee expressed no concerns.

Osterland discussed the proposed change to the working healthy program in KAR-129-6-88. KAR-129-6-88 changes premiums to be charged to Medicaid consumers participating in the program. Currently, a premium is imposed upon a Working Healthy consumer when the consumer's household income exceeds 100 percent of the federal poverty-level income. The proposed change raises the floor for imposing a premium to 266 percent of poverty-level income. For 2022, the federal poverty-level income for a single person was $13,590. Committee members expressed concern this needs to go through legislation and suggested it is a back-door avenue to Medicaid expansion. The committee also took issue with this as an appropriations item.