KMS Newsletters

March in Kansas always yields unpredictability. The weather ranged from a blizzard to 80 degrees in the span of one week and we have had dust storms and delightful days in between. It seems appropriate that the sky outside the statehouse is only as unpredictable as the politics beneath the dome.

The session was largely defined by three priorities shared by the Kansas House and Senate leaders: completing a constitutionally required budget, passing property tax relief, and outlawing gender reassignment procedures, and treatments for minors. While they achieved these objectives during their abbreviated schedule, many other proposals were left on the table. The legislature returns on April 10th for a two-day session to wrap up any remaining priority legislation and to consider veto overrides if necessary.

As we head into the session each year we prepare for all outcomes, we consider our principles, priorities, and the politics likely to affect policy discussions. The 2025 session was uniquely defined by the leaders’ decisions to revamp the budget process and shorten the legislative schedule. Additionally, lawmakers were tasked with reducing the state budget and scaling back programs funded by an influx of COVID and other federal stimulus money. Legislative staff revisors who must write every proposal that is to become law so that it attaches to the appropriate statute, had to balance the entirety of the new budget process with all of the other requests from lawmakers, associations, and individuals seeking bills and amendments at any point in the process. As a result, very few proposals were drafted or could be appropriately amended within the timelines unless compromise had already been agreed to, or leaders pushed the issue.

Though we did not expect to see scope of practice issues pursued by legislative leaders, political winds changed, and HB 2223 became a major focus in the final weeks of the session.

HB 2223 as introduced would allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures, including the use of lasers, and to prescribe drugs without any limitation. Additionally, the bill included an unprecedented provision that would authorize the Board of Examiners which regulates optometric practice to approve any additional procedures not specifically prohibited within the bill—functionally ceding legislative authority over further scope of practice expansion to the state agency that regulates optometrists KMS opposed HB 2223 from its inception and has consistently argued that the bill does not adequately protect Kansas patients, and the professions should instead continue to meet to discuss modernizing the Optometric Practice Act without compromising quality and standards. Though legislative leaders had assured us the bill would not advance this session, it was nevertheless taken up by the Health Committee and quickly sent to the full  House of Representatives where it passed 97-24. This was undoubtedly influenced by the constant presence of optometrists in the statehouse each day, as well as the many months they spent prior to the session inviting legislators into their practices and training programs. In addition, many legislators supportive of the bill faulted the lack of compromise between the professions over the last several years.

The Kansas Medical Society consistently opposes proposals that allow nonphysicians to independently practice medicine and surgery without physician supervision and without commensurate training, education, and regulations to protect patients. While some viewed this bill as being just a disagreement between Ophthalmologists and Optometrists over the medical and surgical care of the eye, the wider precedent for the House of Medicine at large should not be overlooked. If a regulatory board is allowed to unilaterally expand medical and surgical privileges for the nonphysicians it regulates, patients will be harmed and standards will be diluted. 

To that end, KMS requested an amendment to HB 2223 that would have required new procedures or technologies to be reviewed by the existing Interprofessional Advisory Committee (IPAC). The IPAC exists to make recommendations to the Optometry Board on clinical or practice-related issues, including procedure coding matters and appropriate treatments for ocular diseases and conditions. The IPAC is composed of three optometrists and three ophthalmologists and is chaired by a non-voting optometrist. Under our amendment, the Board of Examiners could not approve the use of new technologies and procedures without an affirmative recommendation from the IPAC. The optometrists agreed to our requested amendment and we both testified to this before the Senate Health Committee in the final week of the session. The chair ultimately decided not to work the bill, but it will remain alive next session and certainly has gained momentum. 

Much like the presence of the optometrists’ factoring into the unexpected advancement of this bill, your voices in explaining the dangers of this bill gave legislators pause. Thank you for taking the time to weigh in and we must continue to actively pursue individual relationships with legislators beyond the confines of the legislative session and issues.

As reported earlier, SB 67 also advanced early in the session but was able to be amended significantly from its original version. The bill would have allowed CRNAs to independently practice medicine without restriction, except by prohibiting surgery for the purpose of placing a medical reservoir. As amended at the request of KMS, the bill was limited to prescriptive authority and the ability to order durable medical equipment, which is exactly what the other categories of APRNs were granted two years ago. The bill has passed the House and Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature.

Outside of the scope of practice, a liability reform bill that we have supported for several years finally emerged. SB 54 would allow the disclosure of for-profit third-party funding for litigation. Across the nation, hedge funds and other for-profit entities have begun advancing money to plaintiffs or law firms to cover litigation costs as an “investment” with the hopes of excess verdicts and financial gains. SB 54 would allow the funding source to be disclosed to the jury. The bill passed the House and Senate and also awaits the Governor’s approval.

All in all, the session took some unexpected turns, but the Kansas Medical Society was successful in helping lawmakers respect professional distinctions that protect Kansas patients. Though the session is over, our work will continue as we work with professions to find agreements that do not compromise our principles. We also continue to educate lawmakers in the summer months as well as listen to their concerns and priorities for the coming year.  

Though the session can feel a little like a whirlwind, leaving behind a bit of a mess to navigate—it is always a pleasure and a privilege to advocate on your behalf. There are some prevalent narratives that we must continue to unravel. Access is not a substitute for quality. Proficiency in a procedure is not equivalent to a comprehensive medical education. The Kansas Medical Society and each of our members are providing patient access at the highest quality, protecting and serving Kansas patients every day.

Thank you for your work and for allowing the Kansas Medical Society to advocate on your behalf. 

Welcome to the new KMS Member Portal

Manage your KMS Membership, pay KMS and County dues, and contribute to KaMPAC here.

Click the link below to login:

NOTE: If you are a member of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County, click here to pay your dues.

Welcome to the new KMS Member Portal

Manage your KMS Membership, pay KMS and County dues, and contribute to KaMPAC here.

Click the link below to login:

NOTE: If you are a member of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County, click here to pay your dues.

Welcome to the new KMS Member Portal

Manage your KMS Membership, pay KMS and County dues, and contribute to KaMPAC here.

Click the link below to login:

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software

NOTE: If you are a member of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County, click here to pay your dues.

As 2024 comes to a close and with it the results of the recent national and statewide elections, healthcare issues will most likely continue to be front and center, both nationally and here in Kansas. While the new Congress remains closely divided, the general election once again yielded Republican supermajorities in both the Kansas House of Representatives and Senate. The House bolstered their number, growing from 85 to 88 Republicans, while the Senate gained two new seats bringing the total number of Republican Senators to 31 out of 40 total members. 

Maintaining a supermajority was a critical goal of Republican leadership, giving them the ability to potentially override any veto issued by Democrat Governor Laura Kelly. Legislators are already at work drafting legislation to introduce when the 2025 session begins on January 13. Bills from the previous year do not carry forward on election years, but rather, expire every two years. Even so, we expect to see many of the same issues resurface in hopes of finding newfound support. Among those are the bills expanding the scope of practice for advanced practice nurses and other providers.

Nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are planning to renew their push to allow them to practice without any restrictions on their scope of practice. They argue that CRNAs are the only advanced practice registered nurses that weren’t included in the changes enacted in 2022 which allowed other APRNs to prescribe without a written protocol with a physician. While that sentiment may be understandable, their bid for statutory expansion of practice privileges actually goes much further and would even allow for the performance by CRNAs of surgery and other invasive procedures. It appears that since the passage of the APRNs bill allowing for prescribing, along with a confusing (and incorrect) interpretation by the Board of Nursing and other nursing advocacy groups about its application, some argue that APRNs do not have any limitations on their scope of practice. This interpretation defies a plain reading of the law, which does not provide such authority and is in violation of the Healing Arts and Nurse Practice Acts. 

Optometrists are also seeking an expanded scope and intend to introduce legislation that mirrors their prior effort, which would allow for multiple procedures that overlap into the practice of medicine. KMS will continue its opposition to these practice expansions by both the CRNAs and optometrists.  

Outside of scope issues, we also expect some controversial ideological issues to re-emerge as they do each year, but even more so after the recent election results. In particular, the debate over gender-affirming healthcare for minors is almost certainly going to receive legislative attention again. 

The KMS Legislative Committee is comprised of physicians from many specialties and geographic areas of the state, and it meets bi-weekly to review and advise our Board of Trustees on all legislation impacting the practice of medicine, patient access, reimbursement and the legal climate.

There is no doubt that the session will be busy by the time KMS Advocacy Day occurs on January 29th. We expect to hear from leaders from both the House and Senate, including newly elected Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi, returning House Speaker Dan Hawkins, the health committee vice chairs and members of the “Doc Caucus” and a panel of physicians serving on the KMS Legislative Committee. If you haven’t already, please register to join us today.

Advocacy Day also gives us the opportunity to hear directly from you about issues directly affecting your practice. We have invited all state specialty societies to participate, identify their advocacy objectives, and work with a collective voice under the dome to ensure the practice of medicine remains in physicians’ hands. There are many issues affecting medical practice and we serve as your advocate at the Statehouse. We will continue to push for increases in Medicaid reimbursement, prior authorization reform, improved access to physician-led care, reforms that improve the legal climate, and incentives that encourage newly-trained physicians to establish their practices in the rural and other underserved areas of our state.

Your KMS staff has grown to include a few new faces while maintaining the long-term service of several dedicated employees, in some cases extending over decades. To a person, both new and long-tenured, we consider it a privilege to work as advocates for each of you and your patients. Thank you for your engagement in promoting and protecting your profession to ensure that Kansans receive the very best care. As a (sometimes reluctant) patient myself, I can attest to the excellence and warmth delivered by your hands.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns about legislation or any other matters. It’s my pleasure and privilege to work on your behalf. Wishing you the best in 2025, with hope and optimism for what lies ahead.

It's time to renew your KMS membership for 2025! Kansas physicians are uniquely positioned to serve as both a patient advocate and an advocate for the profession. Your membership enables the Kansas Medical Society to:

• Continue focusing on our mission of advocacy for physicians of all specialties statewide.
• Ensure the physician's voice is well-represented in the legislative & regulatory arenas.
• Improve the practice environment in our state.
• Keep you informed as a member of the state's largest physician association.

Your continued membership is critical to the success of the Kansas Medical Society and the future of the profession. We will continue to focus on our mission and provide unparalleled support to each of you.

We appreciate your consideration in supporting KMS through your renewed membership. Click HERE to pay your dues TODAY!

Elections are open for 2025-2026 KMS Offices. Scan the QR code below to vote online before January 23, 2025.    

Registration is OPEN for KMS Advocacy Day on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in Topeka, Kansas!

Kansas Medical Society’s Advocacy Day offers a unique opportunity to connect directly with your legislative leaders. You will join physicians from across the state, regardless of specialty to ask the hard questions that impact the house of medicine. Please plan to meet with your specialty society, KMS leadership & your peers to inform lawmakers, guide decision-making, and generate support for policies on critical issues that impact physicians, patients, and the healthcare environment for our great state of Kansas. Whether you view advocacy as a responsibility or an option, your community participation, leadership, and collective voices are essential to the House of Medicine’s continued leadership in health care.