IMPLEMENTING KANSAS’S UNIVERSAL ASSESSMENT IN A MANAGED LONG-TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS ENVIRONMENT

摘要

The state of Kansas partnered with the University of Kansas to develop and implement a universal assessment instrument for Medicaid services in a managed LTSS environment. After consulting stakeholders and best practices, the interRAI-Home Care and interRAI-Intellectual Disability tools were selected for use with frail older adults and people with physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, or intellectual/developmental disabilities. InterRAI assessments are designed to contribute to both eligibility screening and careplanning. However, in a Medicaid managed LTSS environment, level-of-care (LOC) eligibility determinations must be completed by an independent assessor, whereas plans-of-care are developed by MCO care coordinators. We will discuss the process of testing the draft instrument for translating state LOC policy into the new assessment instrument and developing a state-specific LOC screen. We will also detail strategies used to overcome challenges encountered in planning the interface between conflict-free LOC determination and MCO careplanning, and successfully transitioning to a new instrument.