Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has done nothing in the area of health care in Kansas that qualifies her to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or to lead a promised reformation of the American health-care system.

That’s the verdict of legislators who chair House committees that oversee health-related policy in Kansas and who have worked with the governor for years.

“I think the governor is a really surprising choice for HHS secretary,” said Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee. “She has done nothing in her six years in office to reform health care in Kansas."

Landwehr is also a member of the Joint Committee on Health Policy Oversight.

"All she has ever recommended as governor is expansion of existing programs," said Landwehr, "and if you want reform you have to change things, not simply expand what already exists.”

Landwehr and Rep. Peggy Mast, an Emporia Republican who chairs the House Social Services Budget Committee, pointed to several recent actions by the governor that made them question her suitability for the Cabinet post.

Landwehr said the governor removed from the fiscal year 2009 budget an additional $2.9 million the Legislature had appropriated for a residency program for primary care physicians at a Salina hospital.

“There’s a shortage of primary-care physicians in Kansas because doctors can make more if they pursue a specialty,” Landwehr said. “The hospital stated in December that without the additional funds they would not be able to continue the residency program, and you can’t have health-care reform if you don’t have doctors.”

She also cited the Sebelius administration’s opposition to House Bill 2287, which would have allowed small employers who do not offer health insurance coverage to pay part of the premium for an eligible employee's individual health-insurance plan through the establishment of a Health Reimbursement Arrangement.

“That’s the kind of outside-the-box thinking that the governor hasn’t done on health care,” Landwehr said.

Mast pointed to the governor’s attempt in her recommended fiscal year 2010 budget to defund a program that provides special formula for infants with phenylketonuria, a relatively rare disorder that can lead to mental retardation if the special formula is not available.

The formula is not covered by Medicare, so the Legislature requested about $200,000 in funding to provide it to low-income families.

“The governor eliminated all funding for the 60 infants that are on the program,” Mast said, “but she managed to include $500,000 in funding for a one-of-a-kind obesity program in schools whose viability we can’t even measure, and $349,000 for a school-district mentoring program.

“That just shows what her priorities have been in Kansas,” Mast added. “She’s willing to fund programs if they relate to schools – that’s been her top priority over health care.”

Mast and others also criticized the governor’s attempt to de-fund the Pregnancy Maintenance Initiative, which assists women facing difficult pregnancies, while supporting funding of Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider.

“She’s tried again and again to eliminate that program, which helps mothers in crisis pregnancies to carry their babies to full term,” Mast said.

Mast and Landwehr also pointed to a breaking story that suggests Sebelius may have engaged in Medicaid fraud by providing special funding to an organization that provides services for individuals with severe disabilities.

The story was broken by the Kansas Health Institute News Service, and was explored in depth at Kansas Meadowlark, an on-line publication that investigates Kansas government.

Despite the governor’s inability to accomplish any significant reform of the Kansas health industry, Landwehr and Mast said they feared where she might attempt to lead the nation, especially under a president who has repeatedly indicated his support for a nationalized health-care system.

"I think she will be proactive in initiating socialized medicine, which would limit services to vulnerable populations,” Mast said.

Landwehr agreed: “The governor has stated her support for socialized health care, which would lead to health-care rationing and waiting lines. I’ve talked to Canadians who say it takes six months to get an MRI. If we go down that road, who gets left out? Would it be seniors, whose care is very expensive and whose quality of life is diminished?”

The Sebelius nomination has created much more controversy than most Cabinet nominations. Today, Fox News picked up the story that Sebelius' nomination has energized the pro-life movement across the country, as well as in Kansas, as reported Monday in Kansas Liberty.

- Phil LaCerte

Previously on Kansas Liberty: 

• Sebelius nomination galvanizes Kansas' pro-life community 

Resources:

• Kansas Health Institute: http://www.khi.org
• Kansas Meadowlark: http://kansasmeadowlark.com/2009/03/03/sebelius-gates-in-questionable-funding/
•  Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/02/sebelius-positions-abortion/
• HB 2287: http://www.kslegislature.org/supplemental/2010/SN2287.pdf

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