Recommendation: We recommend that KDHE reviews the process of redeterminations being sent to the household and identify any problem areas in the process which could undermine the redetermination frequency. We also recommend that KDHE reviews the training materials to ensure that all staff who make e...
Recommendation: We recommend that KDHE reviews the process of redeterminations being sent to the household and identify any problem areas in the process which could undermine the redetermination frequency. We also recommend that KDHE reviews the training materials to ensure that all staff who make eligibility determinations are aware of the required supporting documentation to be saved for both initial eligibility determinations and redeterminations. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: Due to the current COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and the continuous enrollment requirement mandated by CMS, no action has been taken on cases to correct the issue of annual redeterminations as it would cause adverse action with active recipients of Medicaid. At the conclusion of the continuous enrollment requirement, all active recipients will receive a redetermination and updated information based on changes in circumstances will be addressed to determine on-going eligibility. As redeterminations have not been conducted for the past three years, the State of Kansas has utilized the ?downtime? to enhance both KEES and training in preparation for the resumption of redeterminations. From a KEES perspective, numerous updates have been made to redetermination functionality/logic to ensure households receive the required redeterminations appropriately. Throughout the course of day-to-day activities, tickets can be submitted to Helpdesk when a potential problem area is identified in KEES. These tickets are then tracked, prioritized, and analyzed to determine the root cause. The State of Kansas has continued to utilize this information to fix on-going defects that prevent undermining the redetermination frequency. Additionally, validations have been implemented within KEES and visuals added to assist eligibility staff in how redeterminations are completed as part of the review process. A complete redesign has also been completed regarding the Transitional Medical program to ensure KEES is following policy. As mentioned in previous Corrective Action Plans, to prevent untimely redetermination processing in the future, enhancements have been made to the reviews batch and the reviews data available. This will be utilized as redeterminations resume in the State of Kansas. KDHE enhanced the reviews batch process to ensure beneficiaries are sent their review earlier. This allows more time to determine ongoing eligibility prior to the beneficiary losing coverage. Reporting enhancements were made that provide previously unavailable data. The enhanced data allows for greater analysis of mailed and return volumes, which is then used to allocate staff for reviews processing in a more effective manner. From a training perspective, all redetermination training materials were updated and sent through the approval process based on current policies and procedures. These materials are now housed on a document repository (KanShare) that is accessible by all eligibility staff. In February and March 2023, all eligibility staff who will be tasked with processing redeterminations when they resume in April 2023 attended redeterminations training to ensure their comprehension of policies and procedures. This training was divided into three (3) sections: Part 1 is the policy and procedures of determinations; Part 2 is the application of policy and procedures and Part 3 was a post-assessment to gauge the understanding of redeterminations. Lastly, due to the already made enhancements in KEES surrounding redeterminations, all eligibility staff completed `KEES Reviews Update? training in March 2023. This allows eligibility staff to put together redeterminations from beginning to end and ensure all required documentation is maintained with KEES. All active recipients will receive at minimum one annual redetermination by April 2024.This will allow the State of Kansas to gauge recent efforts to mitigate errors identified during the FY22 SSA. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Donna Wills Planned completion date for corrective action plan: April 2024