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As the benefit plan became finalized, other groups were established to provide recommendations on selective parts of the Title XXI state plan development. An employer group was also established to discuss the opportunities and challenges in developing an employer subsidy program. Membership of these groups is also found in Appendix K.

The state’s enabling legislation for the implementation of KCHIP provides for a seven member advisory council appointed by the Governor and ensures ongoing public involvement. This council is comprised of health care providers, families with children eligible for KCHIP and child advocates. Meetings are held on a regularly scheduled basis and upon call of the Chair. All meetings are in accordance with the requirements of the Kentucky Open Meetings Law. These ongoing meetings give members and the public an opportunity to learn about and comment on proposed changes in KCHIP, to identify problems, and to advise and make recommendations.

Ongoing public involvement is also ensured through the regulatory process. When regulations are changed a legislative committee provides review and oversight, and public hearings are held.

In terms of the development of the Family Choices plan, public involvement was paramount in creating buy-in from advocates, consumers and legislators. Kentucky has made a conscientious effort to ensure public input during both the development of the program and the CMS negotiation process. As such, we have continued to participate in numerous public meetings regarding the waiver. During the last three months members of DMS leadership team have met with the following groups: a. Advocates for Reform of Medicaid Services (ARMS) b. Brain Injury Provider Group c. Kentucky Association of Private Providers (KAPP) d. Kentucky Alliance of Regional Programs (KARP) e. Medicaid Consortium f. Mental Health Consumer Council

Following our meeting with CMS in November, we conducted a briefing with the team assisting Kentucky with our Medicaid transformation, KyHealth Choices, which is comprised of consumers and representatives from various advocacy organizations. Members of that team were specifically selected to ensure the dissemination of information to consumers and family members across the state. An additional meeting is scheduled this week to go over the financial sections of the waiver as it pertains to recent CMS discussions.

Additionally, numerous presentations were made to various legislative health and welfare committees as well as with individual Kentucky legislators from both the house and senate.

In anticipation of final CMS approval and recognizing our ambitious timeline, the Commonwealth has undertaken steps to ensure judicious implementation of KyHealth Choices by creating teams for various strategic components.