Kansas Senate Bill SB228

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/7/25

Caption

Providing for the regulation of supplemental nursing services agencies and healthcare workers platforms by the secretary for aging and disability services.

Summary

SB 228 would create a new regulatory framework for supplemental nursing services agencies and healthcare worker platforms in Kansas, placing oversight with the secretary for aging and disability services. The bill defines covered entities and key terms, requires annual registration for agencies and platforms, and authorizes the secretary to adopt rules, conduct unannounced surveys, investigate complaints, and maintain a public complaint system. It also establishes a new state treasury fund to receive registration fees and support administration of the program. The bill sets detailed conditions for registration and continued operation. Covered agencies and platforms would have to verify that temporary healthcare personnel meet licensing, training, continuing education, and background check requirements; maintain malpractice insurance, workers compensation coverage, and a fidelity bond; keep records for five years; and submit quarterly reports on charges to Medicare- and Medicaid-participating facilities and payments to workers. The bill also restricts certain contract terms, such as noncompete-like limits on employment opportunities and liquidated damages or placement fees if a worker is hired permanently by a facility. Registrations could be denied, suspended, or revoked for noncompliance, with a five-year bar on reapplication for controlling persons tied to revoked or nonrenewed entities, and immediate revocation is authorized for knowingly supplying workers with fraudulent credentials.

Impact

SB 228 would amend Kansas law by creating a new licensing and enforcement regime for staffing agencies and digital platforms that supply temporary healthcare personnel to hospitals, nursing facilities, and adult care homes. It would expand the secretary for aging and disability services’ authority over these entities, impose new compliance, reporting, and insurance obligations, and create a dedicated fund financed by a $2,035 annual registration fee. The bill would also affect healthcare facilities, temporary nurses and other licensed personnel, independent contractors, and agency owners by changing how staffing relationships are documented, monitored, and contracted.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so the bill’s sentiment must be inferred from its text. The measure appears generally regulatory and consumer-protective, with a focus on staffing transparency, worker qualification, and facility safety. Its structure suggests support for stronger oversight of a sector that can affect patient care and labor practices, while also imposing significant compliance obligations on agencies and platforms.

Contention

The most likely points of contention are the bill’s cost and regulatory burden, especially the annual registration fee, insurance requirements, quarterly reporting obligations, and expanded state oversight. Agencies and healthcare worker platforms may object to the detailed disclosure requirements and the prohibition on certain contract terms, while healthcare facilities and worker advocates may support those provisions as protections against exploitative staffing practices and credentialing failures. The immediate revocation authority for knowingly supplying workers with fraudulent credentials, and the five-year disqualification of controlling persons tied to revoked registrations, are also likely to be debated as strong enforcement tools.