SESSION OF 2025
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2217
As Amended by House Committee on Health
and Human Services
Brief*
HB 2217, as amended, would expand the scope of the
Inspector General within the Office of the Attorney General to
include the audit, investigation, and performance review of all
state cash, food, and health assistance programs. The bill
would grant the Inspector General the power to subpoena,
administer oaths, and execute search warrants. The bill
would also add and amend several definitions and make
technical, clarifying, and conforming amendments.
Definitions
The bill would add the following definitions:
●“Cash assistance” would mean assistance that is
administered and provided by the Secretary for
Children and Families to individuals for a family’s
ongoing basic needs;
●“Food assistance” would mean assistance that is
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and provided by the Secretary for Children and
Families to individuals for eligible food products;
and
●“Health assistance” would mean the Medicaid
program and the state Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP).
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
https://klrd.gov/ The bill would amend the definitions for “claim,” “client,”
“contractor,” “contractor files,” “fiscal agent,” “provider,”
“recipient,” and “records” to replace references to “Medicaid,
the state MediKan program, or the state Children’s Health
Insurance Program” with “any cash, food or health assistance
program.”
The definition of “healthcare provider” would be
amended to replace a reference to “Medicaid, the state
MediKan program, or the state Children’s Health Insurance
Program” with “health assistance program.”
The bill would remove language exempting the following
from the definition of “records”: any report or record in any
format made pursuant to statutes pertaining to risk
management programs for health care facilities, health care
provider reporting requirements, and reports relating to
impaired providers, which are privileged pursuant to statutes
relating to health care provider peer reviews or confidential
and privileged reports.
Office of the Inspector General
Purpose
The bill would clarify the purpose of the Office of the
Inspector General (OIG) full-time program of audit,
investigation, and performance review to provide increased
accountability, integrity, and oversight of any state cash, food,
or health assistance programs and to assist in improving
agency and program operations and in deterring and
identifying fraud, waste, abuse, and other illegal acts. [Note:
Current law provides only for a full-time program to audit,
investigate, and perform such reviews of the state Medicaid
program, the MediKan program, and CHIP.]
2- 2217 Prohibited Employment
The bill would prohibit a former or current Inspector
General from being employed as an executive or manager for
any program or agency subject to oversight by the OIG for
two years after such Inspector General’s period of service as
the Inspector General has concluded.
Removal from Office
The bill would require the Attorney General to remove
the Inspector General from office prior to the expiration of the
Inspector General's term for cause. [Note: Current law
provides the Attorney General may remove an Inspector
General for cause.]
Duties of Inspector General
The bill would expand the duties of the Inspector
General to require the oversight, audit, investigation, and
performance reviews of any state cash, food, or health
assistance program. [Note: Current law limits such duties to
state Medicaid, MediKan, and CHIP programs.]
Reporting to Attorney General
The bill would specify that the Inspector General is
required to report finding credible evidence of “significant
levels” of fraud, waste, abuse, or other illegal acts to the
Attorney General.
Cases for Prosecution
Continuing law allows the Inspector General to present
for prosecution the findings of any criminal investigation to the
Attorney General or the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Kansas.
The bill would allow the Inspector General to also present
3- 2217 such findings for prosecution to any applicable district or
county attorney.
Powers of the Inspector General and Designees
The bill would grant the Inspector General and their
designees the following additional powers:
●Original jurisdiction to investigate crimes related to
public assistance, including:
○Violations of the Kansas Medicaid Fraud
Control Act;
○Fraud pertaining to eligibility for cash, food
assistance, child care subsidy, and medical
assistance;
○Fraudulent acts involving obtaining
assistance; and
○Violations related to records held by a
provider to which the Attorney General is
allowed access ;
●The power to issue, serve, or cause to be served
subpoenas or other process of service in the aid of
investigations;
●The power to compel by subpoena the attendance
and testimony of witnesses and the production of
books, electronic records, and papers as directly
related to state cash, food, and health assistance
programs;
●The power to administer oaths and take sworn
statements under penalty of perjury;
●The power to serve and execute in any county
search warrants that relate to investigations being
executed by the OIG; and
4- 2217 ●Access to contractor files, limited to those files
necessary to verify the accuracy of the contractors’
invoices or its compliance with contract provisions.
No health care provider would be compelled to
provide individual medical records of patients who
are not clients of such a program or programs.
[Note: This is current law that would be re-
designated as one of the powers granted to the
Inspector General and their designee.]
Reporting to Health Care Provider Regulatory Agencies
When the Inspector General determines that reasonable
suspicion exists that an act relating to the violation of an
agency licensure or regulatory standard has been committed
by a vendor, contractor, or health care provider who is
licensed or regulated by an agency, continuing law requires
the Inspector General to immediately notify such agency of
the possible violation. The bill would add an exception to the
reporting requirement if such notification would jeopardize an
ongoing criminal investigation.
Content of Annual Inspector General Report
The bill would add the type of audit conducted to the list
of required items to be included in the Inspector General’s
annual report. The bill would remove the requirement for the
annual report to include aggregate provider billing and
payment information as well as the reference to the programs
administered by the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Health and Human Services by Representative Bryce on
behalf of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
5- 2217 House Committee on Health and Human Services
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by the Medicaid Inspector General, who stated
the bill would expand the existing responsibilities of the Office
of Medicaid Inspector General to allow for the investigation of
fraud, waste, abuse, and other illegal acts in all Kansas cash,
food, and health assistance programs to ensure taxpayer
dollars are properly spent and fraud, waste, and abuse are
deterred.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the Department for Children and Families,
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, and
Kansas Action for Children.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to remove the
state employee health benefits plan from the definition of
“health assistance.”
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the OAG indicates that
enactment of the bill would increase expenditures of the OIG
by approximately $1.0 million from the State General Fund
beginning in FY 2026. The new expenditures would include
salaries and fringe benefit costs for 9.00 additional full-time
personnel required plus operating expenses to perform the
expected additional audits, reviews, and investigations of
fraud, waste, abuse, and other illegal acts. The additional
staff would allow the OIG to conduct at least five additional
audits, two reviews, and 80 investigations per year.
The OAG states that the increased expenditures would
be offset by the fraud that is prevented and the identification
of wasteful spending, overpayments, and program savings.
6- 2217 For example, since calendar year 2021, the OIG has released
five audit reports, three reviews, and one interim report. In the
reports, OIG identified $300.0 million in wasteful spending,
$6.3 million in overpayments, $25.0 million in savings, 34
findings, and made 83 recommendations. The
recommendations have led to improved processes within the
management of Medicaid programs. In the past year, OIG
has opened 129 investigations, with 102 involving eligibility
fraud, 11 involving other types of beneficiary fraud, 14
involving provider fraud, and two involving state employees.
The OAG has referred seven cases for criminal prosecution,
with several others being finalized and prepared for referral.
The OIG has referred several provider fraud cases that could
result in a civil recovery of over $60.0 million. The OIG states
that it could easily open 200 additional investigations per year
if it had additional personnel available. The OIG also has
numerous areas identified that could be audited, which would
result in additional savings, recoveries, waste identified, and
improved efficiency and effectiveness.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the
Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the Department for
Children and Families (DCF) indicate that enactment of the
bill would have no fiscal effect on the agencies. DCF currently
has staff to investigate cash and food assistance cases. It is
assumed these activities would continue within DCF with the
current staff. Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not
reflected in The FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.
Inspector General; cash assistance; food assistance; medical assistance; Attorney
General; Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families; Department for Children and Families
7- 2217