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In 2007 the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) delivered a comprehensive health reform plan to the Legislature and the Governor intended to improve health in Kansas. A key component of the plan was promotion of the medical home model. In 2008, Kansas policymakers demonstrated support for adopting the medical home concept for Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and state employee enrollees by passing Sub. SB 81 (New Section 13), which defined the medical home in statute. Since passage of that legislation, KHPA has dedicated staff working with stakeholders to develop a Kansas specific medical home model. The state has not set a launch date because of budget setbacks, but it continues to lay the foundation for a medical home program that can be implemented when fiscal matters improve.
 
Professional associations in Kansas have launched the Kansas Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative (PCMHI). With leadership from the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Kansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians, and the Kansas Medical Society, eight practices will work together for two years. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas has pledged financial support. Additional support has come through a Systems in Sync grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The Systems in Sync grants are intended to support better care for children with special health care needs. Further information is available online on the Kansas PCMHI website.
 
Last updated: May 2012
Forming Partnerships Shortly after passage of Sub. SB 81 (New Section 13) in 2008, the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) convened a broad stakeholder group to develop systems and standards for the implementation of the medical home in Kansas. Membership in the stakeholder group included a range of providers, consumers, insurers, safety net clinics, state health agencies, and information technology vendors. The full group and three subgroups met frequently during 2008 and 2009 and developed consensus on the broad principles that should underpin the Kansas medical home.
Defining & Recognizing a Medical Home
Definition: In Kansas a medical home is defined in statute as “a health care delivery model in which a patient establishes an ongoing relationship with a physician or other personal care provider in a physician-directed team, to provide comprehensive, accessible and continuous evidence-based primary and preventive care, and to coordinate the patient’s health care needs across the health care system in order to improve quality and health outcomes in a cost effective manner.” See page 26 of Sub. SB 81 (New Section 13).
 

Recognition: As of December 2011, recognition standards are being drafted.