by Dave Ranney, KHI News Service
Topeka — People with physical disabilities on a waiting list for Medicaid-funded, in-home services are being urged to tell their whereabouts to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
“We’re doing everything we can to find to these people and to assist them in making sure that the information KDADS has on them is accurate and up to date,” said Rosie Cooper, executive director with the Kansas Association for Centers for Independent Living.
The association recently launched a publicity campaign aimed at getting people on the waiting list to contact KDADS.
Last week, KDADS sent form letters to more than 2,600 physically disabled people on its waiting list for in-home services, alerting them they have until April 9 to inform the agency what services they are still interested in receiving.
Those that don’t respond by June 30 will be dropped from the list.
The letters include a one-page form for verifying a recipient’s contact information and disability.
KDADS Secretary Shawn Sullivan said the letters were sent because the department was having a hard time finding many of the people on the list.
“We’re currently serving 5,515 people on the PD (physical disability) waiver,” Sullivan said. “We have room (funds) to serve 5,900, but we can’t do that unless we’re able to contact people.”
Last September, Sullivan said, KDADS sent letters to 462 physically disabled people it thought could be moved off the waiting list.
“Over half either didn’t respond or indicated they were no longer interested in receiving services,” he said. “Some had died, some had moved out of state, and some said they were still interested but were found to be no longer eligible.
“That experience highlighted the need for us to come up with a list with more integrity than the one we have now,” he said.
The latest mailing, he said, already had generated about 200 responses.
“We’re wanting to help the state find these people because we want them to get the services they need,” Cooper said. “But at the same time, we recognize that a lot of them went on the list when it was run by SRS (former Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services), so they’ve never heard of KDADS. And the centers for independent living used to be the gateway to Medicaid, now it’s KanCare. They don’t understand that either. So there’s a lot of educating to do.”
The association recently sent a recorded public service announcement to radio stations throughout the state. It also is publicizing the KDADS notice in its newsletters.
People with physical disabilities are being urged to return the forms on their own or call a KDADS office or center for independent living in their area for assistance.
Last month, KDADS sent similar notices to the 1,400 people with developmental disabilities who are thought to be on the state’s ‘underserved’ waiting list.
“The forms were due March 1, but (KDADS) is still accepting them,” said Matt Fletcher, associate director of Interhab, an association that represents many of the state’s community based programs for the developmentally disabled.
“There have been some problems,” Fletcher said. “A fair number of people either didn’t get notices or they got a letter and no forms or forms and no letter. It’s pretty clear there are some issues with the list, but we’re working with them. It’s important that people respond.”
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