TOPEKA – Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services Secretary Shawn Sullivan today unveiled a pilot project to provide persons served on the Home and Community Based Services Intellectually/Developmentally Disabled (I/DD) program with full participation in the KanCare system. The project is scheduled to begin March 1, and will last for 10 months.
“This pilot project has two primary benefits: it will allow the State of Kansas, the DD community and the managed care organizations (MCOs) to gain experience and insight into the best way to fully integrate I/DD into the KanCare system next year, and it will allow some beneficiaries to begin being active participants in developing a long-term sustainable system,” Secretary Sullivan said. “We want all persons served through the I/DD program to experience a smooth phase-in to KanCare in 2014.”
Last year, the Brownback administration and the Legislature agreed to postpone including I/DD non-medical services under KanCare but did authorize the creation of a pilot project to allow some of those beneficiaries to begin full participation in KanCare earlier than the January 2014 deadline. Non-medical services include home assistance, transportation, residential and day treatment services and job assistance.
I/DD KanCare members began receiving their medical care coverage through KanCare when it was launched this year in January.
In the I/DD Pilot Project, programs that provide non-medical services to beneficiaries would be able to contract with KanCare MCOs to provide those services this year, rather than waiting until 2014.  
In August 2012, Secretary Sullivan created the I\DD Pilot Project Advisory Committee to develop a pilot project design and make recommendations regarding how to evaluate the pilot project, devise a process to track and measure outcomes for pilot project participants and identify a source of independent review for those outcomes. The committee was also charged with ensuring that participation in the pilot project would be voluntary for both beneficiaries and service providers.
The criteria for participation in the pilot project is that a person wants to participate and an I/DD services provider agrees to provide services to that person under KanCare. One cannot participate without the other.
If one of a member’s service providers wants to participate, that is sufficient. For example, if a member receives residential, day services and targeted case management (TCM), participation of any one of those providers will be sufficient for the member to join the pilot project. Providers volunteering to participate may set a maximum number of pilot project participants who they will serve. Persons served may withdraw from the pilot at any point in time.
Once a member and any of the member’s providers want to join the pilot project, the member’s targeted case management (TCM) provider and the Community Developmental Disabled Organization (CDDO) will be required to support the member’s participation by conducting activities for the State, primarily by providing/collecting information to and from members, providers and the KanCare MCOs.
“This pilot project will help persons served through the I/DD program, their family members and their providers to become accustomed to working within a managed care system,” Secretary Sullivan said. “We also believe this will increase the number of providers who are successfully supporting people with challenging behaviors by providing more training for direct support workers.” “I am confident that I/DD waiver individuals will benefit significantly from the comprehensive, integrated care plans that will be available to them under KanCare. They can expect better health outcomes as well as better-coordinated non-medical services once they are fully participating in KanCare,” Secretary Sullivan said.