Current:Home > InvestRekubit Exchange:A claim that lax regulation costs Kansas millions has top GOP officials scrapping -FutureFinance
Rekubit Exchange:A claim that lax regulation costs Kansas millions has top GOP officials scrapping
TradeEdge View
Date:2025-04-07 01:26:48
TOPEKA,Rekubit Exchange Kan. (AP) — An audit released Tuesday by Kansas’ attorney general concluded that the state is losing more than $20 million a year because its Insurance Department is lax in overseeing one of its programs. The department said the audit is flawed and should be “discounted nearly in its entirety.”
The dispute involves two elected Republicans, Attorney General Kris Kobach and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, who are considered potential candidates in 2026 to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Their conflict flared a week after the GOP-controlled state Senate approved a bill that would give Kobach’s office greater power to investigate social services fraud through its inspector general for the state’s Medicaid program.
The audit released by the inspector general said the Insurance Department improperly allowed dozens of nursing homes to claim a big break on a per-bed tax that helps fund Medicaid. It said that from July 2020 through August 2023, the state lost more than $94 million in revenues, mostly because 68% of the certificates issued by the Insurance Department to allow homes to claim the tax break did not comply with state law.
But Schmidt’s office said the inspector general relied on an “unduly harsh and unreasonable” interpretation of state law and “unreliable extrapolations” to reach its conclusions. Also, the department said, the conclusion that most applications for the tax break were mishandled is “astronomically unreflective of reality.”
The state taxes many skilled nursing facilities $4,908 per bed for Medicaid, which covers nursing home services for the elderly but also health care for the needy and disabled. But nursing homes can pay only $818 per bed if they have 45 or fewer skilled nursing beds, care for a high volume of Medicaid recipients or hold an Insurance Department certificate saying they are part of a larger retirement community complex.
“There are proper procedures in place; however, they are not being followed,” the audit said.
The inspector general’s audit said the Insurance Department granted dozens of certificates without having complete records, most often lacking an annual audit of a nursing home.
The department countered that the homes were being audited and that it showed “forbearance” to “the heavily regulated industry” because annual audits often cannot be completed as quickly as the inspector general demands.
Insurance Department spokesperson Kyle Stratham said that if the agency accepted the inspector general’s conclusions, “Kansas businesses would be charged tens of millions of dollars in additional taxes, which would have a devastating impact on the availability of care for senior Kansans.”
veryGood! (79)
Related
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Turkish cave rescue underway: International teams prep to pull American from Morca sinkhole
- Taco Bell brings back Rolled Chicken Tacos, adds Chicken Enchilada Burrito, too
- Artists want complete control over their public exhibitions. Governments say it’s not that simple
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Coco Gauff tops Karolina Muchova to reach her first US Open final after match was delayed by a protest
- Lahaina's children and their families grapple with an unknown future
- How the Royal Family Is Honoring Queen Elizabeth II On First Anniversary of Her Death
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Tragic day: 4-year-old twin girls discovered dead in toy chest at Jacksonville family home
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Hurricane Lee is now a Category 4 storm. Here's what to know about the major hurricane.
- Do you own an iPhone or an iPad? Update your Apple devices right now
- Officers shoot and kill ‘agitated’ man in coastal Oregon city, police say
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Man gets 110 years for killing ex-girlfriend, her grandmother outside Indiana auto seating plant
- Trump back on the campaign trail after long absence, Hurricane Lee grows: 5 Things podcast
- Man pleads guilty to charges stemming from human remains trade tied to Harvard Medical School
Recommendation
Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
No charges against Maine authorities for death of handcuffed man who was hit in head with flashlight
How the Royal Family Is Honoring Queen Elizabeth II On First Anniversary of Her Death
Fourth man charged in connection with threats and vandalism targeting two New Hampshire journalists
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
Kentucky misses a fiscal trigger for personal income tax rate cut in 2025
Trump's trial in New York AG's $250M lawsuit expected to take almost 3 months
Kentucky misses a fiscal trigger for personal income tax rate cut in 2025