Kansas House Bill HB2314

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/6/25

Caption

Directing the secretary for aging and disability services to expand and establish peer support specialist certifications and the secretary for health and environment to pursue a medicaid code for telehealth services provided by peer support specialists.

Summary

HB 2314 would direct the Kansas secretary for aging and disability services to expand training and certification opportunities for peer support specialists and to establish certification standards for two levels of certification. The bill sets limits on billable hours, training frequency, in-person class size, and annual service hours per client, while allowing broader participation in online training sessions. It also permits peer support specialist supervision by non-licensed professionals and requires the agency to adopt rules and regulations to implement the program. The bill further requires criminal history and abuse/neglect/exploitation background checks before certification is granted, using KBI records and certain child and adult protective services registries. It authorizes certified peer support specialists to provide services by telehealth and makes those services eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, while directing the secretary for health and environment to seek federal approval and amend the state Medicaid plan as needed. The bill also amends K.S.A. 22-4715 to add peer support specialist certification to the list of positions for which criminal history information may be released, and it keeps that information confidential under the Kansas Open Records Act through July 1, 2029 unless renewed. The bill’s impact on state law is to create a new statutory framework for peer support specialist certification, expand the role of the Department for Aging and Disability Services, and add a new Medicaid-related telehealth reimbursement pathway. It also broadens the authorized use of KBI criminal history checks for certification purposes and ties peer support specialist services more directly into Kansas Medicaid administration and oversight. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes provided, the overall sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call history. Based on the bill’s structure and caption, it appears to be a service-expansion and workforce-development measure aimed at improving access to behavioral health and disability-related peer support services, with an emphasis on certification standards and program integrity through background screening. The main points of potential contention are likely to be the background check requirements, the limits on billable hours and annual service caps, the use of non-licensed supervisors, and the fiscal/administrative implications of creating a new Medicaid reimbursement code and training infrastructure. Supporters would likely emphasize expanded access, telehealth flexibility, and clearer standards, while critics may focus on cost, oversight, and whether the certification model is sufficiently rigorous.

Impact

HB 2314 would create new statutory authority for peer support specialist certification under the secretary for aging and disability services, require background screening through KBI and abuse/neglect registries, and authorize telehealth peer support services as Medicaid-reimbursable costs. It also amends K.S.A. 22-4715 to include peer support specialist applicants among the categories eligible for criminal history record checks, while keeping those records confidential under specified conditions.

Sentiment

No committee testimony or vote history was provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative support or opposition in the record supplied. The bill’s caption and provisions suggest a generally supportive policy goal of expanding peer support services and Medicaid access, but with an emphasis on regulation, screening, and administrative controls.

Contention

Likely areas of debate include whether the certification standards are too restrictive or too permissive, especially the billable-hour caps, training-session limits, and allowance for non-licensed supervision. Another likely issue is the cost and implementation burden of seeking Medicaid approval, establishing training capacity, and conducting background checks, along with privacy concerns related to the use of criminal and abuse/neglect records for certification decisions.