Amend KRS 164.936 to establish maximum loan repayment awards under the Healthcare Worker Loan Relief Program for dentists and dentists in counties that do not have an actively practicing dentist; provide rural dental practice grant awards and criteria; establish distribution requirements for funds appropriated to the Center of Excellence in Rural Health for loan repayment awards for dentists and rural dental practice grants; amend KRS 164.937 to require information on the Healthcare Worker Loan Relief Program to be reported to the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 313.035 to require the Kentucky Board of Dentistry to create a Rural Dental Fellows Network; require the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates by 25% for dental services in federally designated health professional shortage areas; appropriate $4,400,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to the Center of Excellence in Rural Health budget unit; appropriate $600,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to the Kentucky Board of Dentistry; appropriate $1,000,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to the Department for Medicaid Services; provide that the Act may be cited as the Rural Dental Incentive and Access Program Act; specify that the expanded award eligibility, required reporting on the Healthcare Worker Loan Relief Program, and the Rural Dental Fellows Network shall expire on July 1, 2036; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.
Amend KRS 314.121 to require practitioner members of the Board of Nursing to maintain licensure throughout their board terms; make the active clinical practice of registered nurse members consist of direct bedside patient care on a daily basis; change the entities that submit board candidate names for active clinical registered nurses and nurse educators.
Amend KRS 304.17A-163 to modify the definition of "health plan"; require insurers, health plans, private review agents, and pharmacy benefit managers to disclose certain information about step therapy protocols on their website and ensure that the electronic process for requesting and transmitting prior authorization for a drug includes the ability for prescribing providers to electronically transmit a complete request for a step therapy exception; require coverage for a prescription drug on the date the provider submits a step therapy exception request; provide that requirements apply to Medicaid and KCHIP benefits to the extent authorized by federal law; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek federal approval if it is determined that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes in the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1); provide that the Act applies to policies, certificates, contracts, and plans issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act.
SB 203 requires community health worker certifications in Kentucky to be renewed every three years instead of annually. This directly affects certified community health workers who must complete annual continuing education (focused on oral health, maternal/infant care, and geriatric health) to maintain their certification. The bill also allows certified workers to earn college credit for approved training, mentorship, and continuing education. These changes aim to streamline certification while ensuring ongoing competency in key health areas.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to establish the employers' organ and bone marrow donation tax credit; amend KRS 141.0205 to provide the ordering of the credit; amend KRS 131.190 to allow disclosure of certain information on the credit to the Legislative Research Commission; provide that Section 1 of this Act may be cited as the Living Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Assistance Act of 2026.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to require the Department for Medicaid Services to include coverage for adult day health care and in-home attendant services in all 1915(c) waiver programs that enroll adults; require coverage of at least 40 hours per week separately for adult day health care and in-home attendant services; prohibit aggregating coverage limits for adult day health care and in-home attendant services; require the department to promulgate administrative regulations; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the department to seek federal approval if they determine that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes to the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1).
Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to define terms; require health plans to provide coverage for an annual mental health wellness examination provided by a mental health professional; require the coverage to be no less extensive than coverage for medical and surgical benefits, comply with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, and not be subject to any cost-sharing requirements; amend KRS 304.17C-125, 164.2871, and 18A.225 to require limited health service benefit plans, self-insured employer group health plans provided by the governing board of a state postsecondary education institution, and the state employee health plan to comply with the mental health wellness examination coverage requirement; state purpose of the Act; direct that provisions apply to health plans issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act; provide that Section 1 of the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Mental Health Wellness Act; EFFECTIVE, January 1, 2027.
SB 301 (as detailed in its bill text) corrects a discrepancy in its abstract: it does not add gender-neutral language but instead amends Kentucky law to establish a statewide prescreening system for long-term care admissions. The bill requires the Health and Family Services cabinet to implement a preadmission review system, including a resource means test (ensuring applicants have funds for 365 days of care), before authorizing placement in skilled-nursing or intermediate-care facilities. It mandates that facilities cannot admit patients without this screening, and non-compliant admissions would be a Class B violation. The law directly affects long-term care facilities, hospitals offering skilled-nursing beds, and Kentuckians seeking Medicaid-covered care in these settings. The bill was introduced in the Senate on February 27, 2026, and referred to committee.
Amend KRS 304.39-020, relating to personal injury protection benefits, to modify requirements for certain medical expenses paid by a reparation obligor; amend KRS 304.39-130 to increase the allowable weekly reimbursement for work loss and other loss; amend KRS 304.39-210 to establish requirements for a reparation obligor paying medical expenses and a person submitting and collecting medical expenses; create a new section of KRS Chapter 15 to provide the Attorney General with concurrent jurisdiction in the investigation and prosecution of offenses under KRS 304.47-020; amend KRS 304.47-020 to conform; create a new section of Subtitle 47 of KRS Chapter 304 to require the insurance commissioner to publish an annual insurance fraud report; direct that certain provisions apply to basic and added reparation benefits issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 216 to define terms; prohibit a health care provider from performing a pelvic, rectal, or prostate examination without the informed consent of the patient or the person authorized to make health care decisions for the patient; provide for certain exceptions including a court order; require violators to be subject to discipline by the appropriate professional licensing board or accrediting agency.
