Johnson County leaders are critical of KanCare in new letter

A trio of Johnson County leaders have gone public with criticism about KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program.

In a letter dated Wednesday, Ed Eilert, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, signed on with two health leaders to list concerns about the program. The letter was also endorsed by the board, Eilert said.

“What we have seen is an underfunded system that is continuously being whittled away,” the letter says.

Earlier this year, cuts made by Gov. Sam Brownback to help balance the state’s budget took $56.4 million from Medicaid. That included a 4 percent payment cut to certain KanCare providers.

Gayle Richardson, chairwoman of the governing board for Johnson County Developmental Supports, also signed the letter. She referred to the circumstances surrounding the letter’s release as an emergency.

“KanCare is a system that hasn’t worked,” she said. “And it has been, actually, I think fiscally and emotionally harmful to our population, including the families. We’re just on edge all the time.”

The letter notes that it is in part a response a piece published in The Wichita Eagle by Tim Keck, acting secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

The acting secretary’s comments came as a response to earlier criticism. In his piece, Keck writes that “Kansas’ safety net for the disabled is strong and improving every day.”

That’s not what people are seeing in Johnson County, Eilert said.

Keck’s letter came out around the same time that Cornerstone Supports, a service provider in the area, is closing its doors. Eilert said he would not be surprised if other service providers have to close as well.

“Every cut makes a difference, no question about it,” Eilert said.

The latest news also comes while Kansas is facing another budget gap. Numbers released earlier this month show that the state is facing at least a $60 million budget hole.

“We have not seen the remarkable success that is described and are holding our breath that no other crisis or cut is forthcoming,” the letter says about KanCare.

Angela de Rocha, the spokeswoman for KanCare, said the department is standing by what acting Secretary Keck wrote.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Johnson County leaders are critical of KanCare in new letter."