Health Committee Targets Oversight of Larger Home-Plus Facilities

TOPEKA — The House Health and Human Services Committee advanced HB 2520 on Thursday after adopting an amendment that would impose new requirements on home-plus facilities seeking to serve more than 12 residents, the current statutory cap for the residential care model that Kansas law defines as a smaller, home-like alternative to assisted living and nursing facilities housing 60 or more.

Home-plus facilities occupy a niche between traditional home care and larger institutional operations, and the sector has drawn increasing scrutiny as Kansas's aging population drives demand for residential options. The bill would raise the home-plus cap from 12 to 16 residents, with the committee's amendment targeting the newly expanded 13-to-16-resident tier, where advocates and regulators have raised concerns that facilities operating at that scale warrant additional safeguards without being subject to the same rules as licensed adult care homes.

Proponents told the committee that rising staffing, insurance and inflation costs have made the 12-resident limit financially unsustainable, forcing some home-plus facilities to close. Opponents argued that increasing the cap without requiring additional staffing would undermine the intimate care model that distinguishes home-plus from institutional settings. The measure now heads toward a full House vote, where it could face further debate over balancing access to care with regulatory protections.