A tentative plan to save Kansas government more than $2 billion over five years relies heavily on proposed changes to the state employee health plan and Medicaid.
Here are five things to know:
1. The report was written by Alvarez and Marsal, a consulting firm based in New York, under a $2.6 million contract with the state.
2. The report includes 105 recommendations, including a new health plan for school districts, for "achieving major cost savings."
3. Lawmakers and Gov. Sam Brownback have struggled to balance the state budget in recent years due to sharp drops in revenue, caused in part by income tax cuts approved in 2012.
4. The report says the state could save nearly $124 million over five years by limiting state workers to one health insurance option, a high deductible plan that would require employees to cover a significant portion of their medical costs with money from a health savings account to which both they and the state would contribute.
5. The report also recommends that the state no longer allow retirees who are not yet 65 to continue their state health coverage until they become eligible for Medicare.