Advocacy in Action (April 2025): Legislative Recap

April 2, 2025
As we move further into 2025, we want to share an update on our legislative advocacy efforts this session. KABC remains committed to championing policies that protect and support older adults and individuals in long-term care. Here’s a look at key legislative developments and where things stand:

Success for SB 88: Improved Ombudsman Training in Memory Care

KABC proudly provided testimony in favor of SB 88, a bill requiring the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and regional ombudsmen to receive training in memory care. Led by the Alzheimer’s Association, this bill ensures that those advocating for residents in long-term care facilities have the specialized knowledge necessary to support individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.


We are pleased to report that SB 88 successfully passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Kelly in late March. This is a significant step forward in improving the quality of advocacy and care for Kansans affected by memory-related conditions.


Fighting Against Dangerous Fire Safety Rollbacks in SB 276

KABC prepared testimony in opposition to SB 276, a bill that proposed removing the State Fire Marshal from the Adult Care Home Licensure Act and the Providers of Disability Services Act. While we strongly support enhanced training for professionals in person-centered care and dementia response, this bill posed a serious threat to fire safety standards in long-term care facilities.


If passed, SB 276 would have eliminated minimum fire safety standards for 720 adult care homes and provider locations across Kansas—leaving 95% of the state unprotected. Additionally, it would have stripped the State Fire Marshal’s authority to inspect these facilities, recommend corrective actions, or levy fines for noncompliance. Such deregulation would put thousands of vulnerable residents at risk.


The hearing for SB 276 was ultimately canceled, a decision that reinforces the importance of maintaining essential safety protections for long-term care residents. We remain vigilant in opposing any future efforts to weaken these safeguards.


Advocating for a Statewide Senior Resource Directory

One of our key advocacy priorities this session has been securing funding for a statewide senior resource directory—a vital tool to connect older Kansans with essential services and support. We advocated that $190,000 be added to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) budget for the resource guide. This funding was a recommendation from the Senior Care Legislative Task Force.


With strong support from Senator Kloos, the Senate included the funding recommendation in the budget, and it successfully advanced to the budget conference committee. Both the House and Senate have now included the funding in the final budget bill, which is currently awaiting review from Governor Kelly.


We will provide updates as soon as the budget is finalized.


Looking Ahead

KABC will continue monitoring legislative developments and advocating for policies that prioritize safety, care, and quality of life for older Kansans. Your support makes these advocacy efforts possible, and we encourage you to stay engaged.

Thank you for standing with us in the fight for better care. Stay tuned for more updates!

Understanding the Special Focus Facility Program

By Libby Hastings • April 21, 2025
Understanding the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program: What Families Need to Know When Choosing a Nursing Home in Kansas When searching for a nursing home for a loved one, families often look for a place that will offer safe, reliable, and compassionate care. One important—but often overlooked—resource that can help inform that decision is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program , managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). What Is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program? The SFF Program was created by CMS to address the most persistent quality problems in nursing homes across the country. Every nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid is regularly inspected to ensure it meets health and safety standards. Most nursing homes will have a few issues identified during these inspections—typically six to seven deficiencies on average—but some facilities consistently fall far below acceptable standards. These nursing homes: Have twice as many deficiencies as the average facility, Have more serious issues , including those that cause actual harm to residents, And show a long-term pattern of poor performance over a span of about three years. Facilities like these may fix issues temporarily, but often fail to address the root causes—resulting in a harmful cycle of repeated violations. That’s where the SFF program comes in. How the SFF Program Works CMS uses inspection data to score nursing homes based on both the number and severity of their deficiencies. Facilities with the highest scores (i.e., the most and most serious problems) are added to a list of SFF candidates . Each state is allowed only a limited number of active SFFs at a time—currently, only 88 facilities nationwide can be enrolled in the program. However, CMS maintains a much longer list of SFF candidates that also meet the criteria but haven't yet been selected for the program due to space limits. Once a facility is chosen as an active SFF: It is inspected every six months instead of the usual once a year. It may face progressive enforcement , such as financial penalties or losing eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid. It must show real, lasting improvements to graduate from the program. A facility "graduates" from the SFF program only after it has two consecutive inspections (after being named an SFF) with no more than 12 relatively minor deficiencies and none at a higher severity level. If a facility continues to have serious violations, CMS may consider terminating its participation in Medicare and/or Medicaid. Why This Matters to Kansas Familie s Being informed about a nursing home’s history can help protect your loved ones. Facilities in the SFF program—or on the candidate list—have serious quality concerns. While some may be working hard to improve, others may continue to struggle with systemic issues that put residents at risk. As of March 2025, the following nursing homes in Kansas are included in the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program: Excel Healthcare and Rehab Topeka (recently closed) Access Mental Health (Peabody) The following facilities in Kansas are currently on the SFF candidate list : Clearwater Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Good Samaritan Society- Liberal Kearny County Hospital Long-Term Care Unit Legacy at College Hill (Wichita) Legacy on 10th Avenue (Topeka) Medicalodges Jackson County Medicalodges Post Acute Care Center (Kansas City) Meridian Rehabilitation and Health Care Center (Wichita) Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation (Kansas City) Tanglewood Nursing and Rehabilitation (Topeka) The following facilities graduated from the SFF program: Advena Living of Cherryvale Life Care Center of Osawatomie Anew Healthcare Oxford is a facility that is no longer participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Program. We encourage families to take time to research and ask questions when considering a nursing home. You can access the full national SFF and candidate list on the CMS website here . KABC offers free unbiased Consumer Information Reports on all licensed adult care facilities in Kansas, helping you make an informed choice when deciding between long-term care options. Final Thoughts The Special Focus Facility Program exists to push underperforming nursing homes to do better—but it’s also a signal to the public. When selecting long-term care, knowing whether a facility is on this list can be an important part of making the best choice for your loved one. If you have questions about how to find quality nursing home care in Kansas or want help understanding a facility’s inspection history, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.
A woman is being pushed in a wheelchair.

Opinion Piece from Dave Ranney, KABC Board Member

By Dave Ranney • April 1, 2025
Opinion piece from Dave Ranney, current KABC Board Member and retired newspaper reporter: In a recent Kansas News Service story on Sen. Roger Marshall’s appearance at a town hall meeting in Oakley, Kansas, (pop. 1,982), a board member with the local nursing home said he’d hoped to hear about issues “…affecting nursing homes right now. Rural hospitals are hurting but all people wanted to do was scream at the senator.” The board member’s concerns are valid and deeply troubling. Cuts in Medicaid spending will be devastating. Medicaid is the backbone of long-term care in Kansas; 57 percent of the state’s nursing home residents rely on Medicaid for their care. These are frail elders whose estates have been depleted. They have no money. Medicaid reimbursement rates are, at best, break-even. They’re not ‘profit centers.’ Even a small reduction in rates will push many rural facilities to the brink of closure. Quality of care, too, is sure to suffer. Medicare, unfortunately, does not cover nursing home care. Rural families will be left with no choice but to move their loved ones far from home to receive the care they need and deserve. Already, eight of the state’s 105 counites are without a nursing home; at least 40 have only one. National surveys have found that a fourth of the nursing homes in Kansas are providing sub-standard care, usually due to inadequate staffing. Recruiting and retaining nurses and healthcare staff in small towns is critical. The board member would do well to consider what’ll happen when DOGE figures out that Medicaid is paying for care that often falls short of federal standard. Lawmakers on both the state and national levels have a responsibility to ensure stable Medicaid funding to keep existing facilities open while, at the same time, investing in community-based services that offer lower-cost, in-home care options that allow people to remain in their communities. Sincerely, Dave Ranney Dave Ranney is a retired newspaper reporter, he lives in Lawrence, Kansas.