KMS Newsletters
May 7, 2023 - Newsletter
A Note From KMS Executive Director Rachelle Colombo
Now that the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded, I want to take a moment to again thank you for allowing the Kansas Medical Society to actively advocate on your behalf. Though the healthcare landscape is divided over some of the current ideological issues of our day, there is still much that unites this sacred profession on behalf of the patients you serve. It is on these issues where we can most effectively use our collective voice and expertise as an organization.
Most of the legislative session was dominated by ideology around health-related matters, often pitting polarizing politics against more precise policy. Though this dynamic is not new when considering issues of personal belief, it has become decidedly more predominant in the health arena, making our commitment to advocating on issues of agreement within the house of medicine even more critical and difficult.
March 26, 2023 Newsletter
Legislative Update
Most of the activity this past week and a half has been at the committee level in the legislature, as House and Senate committees worked to clear their agendas of pending bills. Beginning next week the bills that made it out of committee will be debated and perhaps further amended on the floor of each chamber, and then most likely ending up in a conference committee where House and Senate differences will be worked out.
February 25, 2023 Newsletter
Legislative Update
The first major deadline of the 2023 legislative session was reached this week, with what is known as “turnaround”, the date at which most bills have to pass their chamber of origin in order to be alive for further consideration this session. However, there are exceptions to this deadline, as bills can be “blessed” which keeps them alive even though they have not passed their chamber of origin. Certain committees which are exempt from normal deadlines can also introduce bills about anytime, and the contents of a “dead” bill can always be added to an unrelated bill. So, even though there are deadlines, as a practical matter no issue is truly beyond the reach of the legislature as long as it is in session.
An example of an issue that failed to pass the Senate, but was “blessed”, keeping it alive for further consideration, is SB 112, which allows CRNAs to practice independently. Although the bill made it out of the Health Committee, the Senate deferred action on it for the time being. KMS opposed the bill and would like to thank everyone that reached out to their senator following Thursday’s call to action.
February 4, 2023 Newsletter
Legislative Bill Introductions
The 2022 legislative session is approaching its Feb. 10 deadline when bills must be introduced by committees in their originating chamber. That means bill introduction activity is likely to pick up in the next week. Feb. 24 is the turnaround deadline, when most bills must be approved by committees in their originating chamber or be exempted from deadlines in order to advance through the process.
January 28, 2023 Newsletter
In Memoriam, Jimmie A. Gleason, MD
Jimmie A. Gleason, MD, of Topeka, passed away January 24. He was 89. He is survived by his wife Louise and his two sons — Doug Gleason, MD, and Jeff Gleason, MD, and their families — and two stepdaughters, Lisa and Katherine and their families. He was preceded in death by his by his first wife, Mary Ellen “Micke,” who passed away in 2000, and by his son Mike, who passed away in 2013.
Dr. Gleason practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Topeka for 35 years, delivering more than 10,000 babies and caring for thousands of women throughout northeast Kansas. Dr. Gleason grew up in Clay Center. His family was in the livestock business raising mules and horses. Growing up, Dr. Gleason was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet as a youngster and then in a band in college.
