Kansas KDADS Behavioral Health Program: What Nursing Facilities Need to Know
Kansas nursing facilities can now receive an add-on Medicaid payment of up to $175 per resident, per day, to support residents with significant behavioral health needs. Administered by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), the program funds specialized staff training, individualized behavioral support plans, and monthly psychiatric oversight to help facilities deliver enhanced care without adding cost to residents.
What Is the Kansas KDADS Behavioral Health Program?
The Kansas KDADS Behavioral Health Program provides participating nursing facilities an add-on reimbursement of up to $175 per Medicaid resident, per day, for the behavioral health needs of eligible residents. It was established under a Kansas Senate Bill 125 budget proviso for Fiscal Year 2026 and continued under House Bill 2513 for Fiscal Years 2027 and 2028.
Administered by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services through the KanCare caseloads account, the program is designed for facilities caring for residents — as defined in K.S.A. 39-923 — whose behavioral health needs call for a higher level of clinical support than standard nursing facility care provides. The add-on is intended to fund the training, planning, and psychiatric oversight that behaviorally complex residents require, delivered in partnership with a behavioral health provider the facility selects. Notably, the participant cap that applied in the program's first year has been removed for FY 2027 and FY 2028, opening participation more broadly to qualifying facilities.
For facilities already partnering with a behavioral health provider, or evaluating one, the program creates a direct funding pathway to strengthen on-site behavioral health care within existing Nursing Homes & Long-Term Care operations.
What Are the Program Requirements for Participating Facilities?
Participating facilities must meet four core requirements: deliver specialized staff training and enhanced care services, create individualized behavioral support plans for each enrolled resident, provide monthly psychopharmacological reviews, and collaborate with their contracted behavioral health provider to track and report outcome metrics to KDADS.
These requirements are set directly in the enacted program language. The table below breaks down what each involves.
| What It Involves | |
|---|---|
| Specialized staff training & enhanced care services | Facility staff receive targeted education on managing behavioral health needs, paired with enhanced, person-centered care services for enrolled residents. |
| Individualized behavioral support plans | Each resident in the program receives a documented, individualized behavioral support plan built around their specific clinical and behavioral needs. |
| Monthly psychopharmacological reviews | Every enrolled resident receives a monthly review of psychiatric medications, covering effectiveness, side effects, continued need, and opportunities to reduce or adjust. |
| Outcome tracking & reporting to KDADS | Facilities work with their contracted behavioral health provider to track defined outcome metrics and report them to KDADS. |
Meeting these requirements consistently calls for a behavioral health partner equipped to deliver assessment, psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, staff education, and structured documentation as an integrated program, not as disconnected services.
How Deer Oaks Supports Kansas Facilities Under the Program
Deer Oaks partners with nursing facilities as an integrated psychology and psychiatry provider, not a single-discipline vendor. That combined model directly supports every requirement of the program, from individualized behavioral support planning to monthly psychiatric medication oversight, delivered by clinicians who specialize in long-term care.
See the whole person. Deliver the right care. Improve the quality of life.
Individualized Behavioral Support Plans
Deer Oaks psychology and psychiatry teams assess each resident's needs, identify underlying behavioral health concerns, and build clinically appropriate, individualized support plans in collaboration with facility staff. This directly fulfills the program's core requirement that every enrolled resident has a documented, individualized behavioral support plan.
Monthly Psychopharmacological Reviews
Deer Oaks provides ongoing, monthly medication review covering effectiveness, side effects, continued clinical need, polypharmacy, antipsychotic utilization, and Gradual Dose Reduction (GDR) opportunities. This matches the program's monthly psychopharmacological review requirement precisely, while supporting CMS medication-safety expectations.
Specialized Staff Training
Deer Oaks delivers behavioral health education tailored to long-term care for MDS coordinators, nursing teams, CNAs, and other facility staff. This training builds lasting in-house capacity to recognize and respond to behavioral health needs, directly supporting staff-training requirements.
Outcome Tracking and Documentation
Deer Oaks collaborates with facility leadership to track and report behavioral health outcome measures aligned to both facility standards and program requirements. This supports the program's mandate that participating facilities report outcome metrics to KDADS, while giving leadership clear visibility into resident progress.
Beyond the Program: Strengthening Behavioral Health Infrastructure Statewide
Deer Oaks supports behavioral health infrastructure for Kansas facilities whether or not they currently participate in the program. Strong on-site psychology and psychiatry services improve resident outcomes, support staff, and reduce avoidable disruptions.
As KDADS continues to implement the program across FY 2027 and FY 2028, facilities that build behavioral health capacity now position themselves well for what comes next. Establishing an integrated behavioral health model that includes clear clinical protocols, trained staff, and reliable documentation, prepares a facility to participate effectively today and to adapt as the program evolves. Deer Oaks works with facilities statewide, including those exploring their options, to lay that groundwork.
Is Your Facility Ready?
Facilities that wait risk falling behind on program requirements or missing the window to build the behavioral health infrastructure that qualifying residents need. Partnering with an experienced, integrated provider now is the most direct path to participating with confidence.
Deer Oaks brings more than three decades of experience delivering psychology and psychiatry services in long-term care, with the clinical depth, staff training, and documentation support this program requires.