{"id":1053,"date":"2026-02-09T22:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T22:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/?p=1053"},"modified":"2026-02-09T22:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T22:29:43","slug":"media-alert-kshl-testifies-to-prevent-waitlist-for-frail-elderly-waiver-why-in-home-care-matters-for-kansas-seniors-and-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/media-alert-kshl-testifies-to-prevent-waitlist-for-frail-elderly-waiver-why-in-home-care-matters-for-kansas-seniors-and-taxpayers\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA ALERT | KSHL Testifies to Prevent Waitlist for Frail &amp; Elderly Waiver: Why In-Home Care Matters for Kansas Seniors \u2014 and Taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>February 3, 2026, Topeka, Kansas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, January 29, Chuck Schmidt, Kansas Silver Haired Legislature (KSHL) Speaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro Tem, testified before House and Senate committees, urging lawmakers to fully fund the Frail<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&amp; Elderly (FE) Waiver to prevent a waiting list for home and community-based services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FE Waiver provides Kansas seniors an alternative to nursing home placement by covering<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">essential supports such as personal care, household assistance, and basic health services. These<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">services allow older Kansans to remain independent in their homes and live in the most<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">integrated setting possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), an estimated<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">$31 million is needed to prevent a waitlist from forming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schmidt coordinated his testimony with Dan Goodman of Kansas Advocates for Better Care<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(KABC), which shares KSHL\u2019s concerns about the consequences of delayed access to care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KSHL emphasized that a waitlist for home-based services is not feasible for seniors. Delays in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">access increase the likelihood that older Kansans will lose mobility and the ability to perform<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">daily activities, ultimately forcing more seniors into nursing homes \u2014 a more costly and less<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">preferred option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What This Means for Kansas Seniors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without timely in-home support, seniors across Kansas \u2014 in both rural and urban communities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014 face higher risks of falls, hospitalization, caregiver burnout, and premature placement in<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">nursing facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why This Saves Kansas Taxpayer Dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In-home care costs significantly less than nursing home care and helps prevent avoidable<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">hospitalizations, reducing long-term Medicaid spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFunding in-home care isn\u2019t just the humane choice \u2014 it\u2019s the fiscally responsible one. Keeping<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">seniors safely at home costs taxpayers far less than institutional care.\u201d ~ Chuck Schmidt, Speaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro Tem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 3, 2026, Topeka, Kansas On Thursday, January 29, Chuck Schmidt, Kansas Silver Haired Legislature (KSHL) Speaker Pro Tem, testified before House and Senate committees, urging lawmakers to fully fund the Frail &amp; Elderly (FE) Waiver to prevent a waiting list for home and community-based services. The FE Waiver provides Kansas seniors an alternative to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kshl_media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1054,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053\/revisions\/1054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kansas-shl.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}