(April 29, 2024)—Last week, the budget committees held a joint session in the morning to be briefed on state consensus revenue estimate updates and Governor Lara Kelly's budget amendments.

Both the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Troy Waymaster (R-Bunker Hill) and Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Sen. Rick Billinger (R-Goodland) worked through the items they had left for the Omnibus session.

The Senate added the following items:

• Funds for the Child Death Review Board
• Added provisions to the Promise Act Scholarship for allied health professions
• Added funding and positions for the Adult Learner Grant
• Funds for the implementation of House Bill 2749, requiring medical care facilities to report reasons for abortions, previously vetoed
• Added funding to extend Medicaid coverage for dental exams, x-rays, and cleaning for fiscal year 2025
• Added funds for one position to implement provisions regarding cardiac response plans for schools
• Added funding for behavioral health training programs at Wichita State University and University of Kansas School of Medicine. This one-time funding of $3.4 million would be used for the following behavioral health training programs:
  • $1.0 million for three residency positions specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry at K.U. School of Medicine-Wichita. Funding would support costs for the residents, as well as faculty and staff associated with the positions
  • $1.1 million for four addiction medicine fellows, which would provide physician training and expertise in the treatment of substance use disorders
  • $380,000 for one professor and two fellows to develop a forensic psychology degree program
  • $390,000 for one licensed psychologist and six psychology interns to offer paid internship and practicum opportunities
  • $48,000 for $1,000 stipends to physician providers willing to precept the 48 physician associate students on behavioral health rotations
  • $175,000 for one faculty member and one staff person to start a post-graduate behavioral health PA fellowship program, which would provide additional behavioral health training to PA graduates
  • $300,000 for two faculty and one staff person to develop a PA doctorate degree curriculum with a behavioral health pathway
• Added funding for primary care services at community mental health centers and community behavioral health clinics in counties not served by federally qualified health centers
• Added language to require supplemental nursing staff agencies, temporary nursing staff agencies and technology platforms that connect
• Added funding and positions for transfer of authority for certification of continuing care retirement communities
• Added funding for contract nursing at state hospitals
• Expanded investments in the South Central Behavioral Health Hospital facility for up to $19.8 million to build up to 100 beds

Meanwhile, the House added the following items:

• Funds to enact the Occupation Licensing Fee for Military Service Fee from House Bill 2745
• A motion to add funding for House Bill 2749 (previously vetoed), reporting requirements on reasons for abortion
• Added $12 million to expand services offered by Equifax Workforce Solution
• Added funds for the governor's budget amendment for funds for additional HIV testing and supplies
• Funding for the implementation of House Bill 2536, SOUL family legal permanency option
• Funding for behavioral health training programs at WSU and KU School of Medicine - Wichita
• Added $2.4 million to provide a base-pay increase and retention bonuses for nursing faculty at community and technical colleges
• Added language to include supplemental nursing staff agencies, temporary nursing staff agencies and technology platforms to report to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
• Added $5 million for reimbursement for hospitals providing mental health services
• Added funds for the Emergency Medical Services Board
• Added funds for the Child Death Review Board
• Added $1 million for the Kansas Nursing Initiative Grant and $1 million for the Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship Program with language stating recipients cannot enter into contract nursing for the same number of years they receive the scholarship
• Added provisions to the Promise Act to make it available for allied health professions
• Added funds for the Adult Learning Grant Program
• Added funds for Valley Hope to add six Medicaid beds
• Delayed implementation of previously passed 340B provisions to be upheld by the attorney general's office until the Supreme Court has finalized all decisions on the 340B Drug Pricing Program

Late Friday, the conference committee agreed to the following differences:

• Added funding for three additional inspectors in the Medicaid inspector general's office
• Language allowing maternity centers to access the Health Care Stabilization Fund
• Rejected additional funding for Equifax workforce solutions
• Added $5 million for child and adult behavioral health beds
• Added funding for Medicaid coverage of dental exams, x-rays and cleanings
• Added funding for Kansas City Full Circle Program for drug abuse prevention for youth
• Added $3.5 million for indigent support for substance use disorder
• Added funds for Valley Hope to be able to use beds for Medicaid-eligible purposes
• Added funding for 500 new slots on the Intellectual / Developmental Disability Waiver
• Added funding for EmberHope Youthville to expand family on-site visitation services and support
• Added $2.4 million for pay increases and retention bonuses to be distributed through the Center for Excellence
• Added $19.8 million to construct the Sedgwick County Regional Psychiatric Hospital with a footprint that would allow expansion to 104 beds
• Added language to delay the enforcement of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act against drug manufacturers in 340B Drug Pricing Program until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on litigation

The final report is contained in House Bill 2551. The agreement will receive a final up or down vote in the House and Senate.