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A statewide registry in Kansas is being created that would provide Medicaid (KanCare) recipients in the state with website that would make it simpler for them to find personal care professionals. This may help many individuals who have not been able to find individuals that are capable of caring for the sometimes significant needs of the individual. The registry is being worked on by a number of nonprofit organizations. The goal is that the registry will be complete in approximately one year.

The website would allow Medicaid recipients to search for personal care professionals, and it would allow personal care professionals who are seeking employment to create a profile on the website. The website will provide regular reminders to employees with profiles on the website to update their information. If they do, they will receive priority placement on the registry. If they don’t do so within 12 months of inactivity, their profile will be taken off the website.

Per the Kansas Department of Labor, in 2014 over 18,000 individuals worked as personal care workers for individuals in the state who were disabled or elderly. The caretaker’s hourly salary ranged from approximately $8.50 to $11 if they performed full-time work. These low wages made such jobs less desirable to workers in Kansas, and make it so that Medicaid recipients in the state have to contact numerous agencies and individuals to determine if they meet the KanCare needs and income qualifications, and then find an appropriate caretaker.

It is hoped that the pending website will streamline the process for individuals receiving Medicaid through KanCare to find appropriate caretakers. Many elderly residents of Kansas City use Medicaid planning services to afford their long-term care needs. For those who want in-home care, seeking qualified help is incredibly important, so the fewer steps that are needed to obtain such care, the better.

Source: KCUR.org, “Registry Aims To Link Kansas Medicaid Patients, Personal Care Workers,” Megan Hart, April 4, 2016