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I support exploring a state-operated exchange because Kansans deserve a marketplace built for Kansas. States that run their own exchanges have more control over plan quality, lower user fees, longer enrollment periods, and outreach tailored to their communities, including rural areas where choices are limited. As I've traveled the state, I've heard the same concerns: insurance costs too much, it's confusing, and too many people feel like they're on their own. A Kansas-run exchange could put consumer education and navigation assistance front-and-center and keep fee dollars working here at home. Any transition must be done carefully and transparently, with an honest analysis of costs without disrupting coverage. As Commissioner, I would work with the Legislature and stakeholders from all sides (as I have for ten years in the Senate) to determine whether and how a state exchange would deliver real savings and better service for Kansans.

The ACA delivered real protections Kansans rely on: coverage for pre-existing conditions, young adults staying on family plans, and no lifetime caps. Enhanced tax credits helped record numbers of Kansans afford coverage. However, recent changes hit families hard. The expiration of enhanced subsidies means premium increases, and many farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and early retirees are being priced out or dropping coverage. Shortened enrollment windows and reduced navigator funding make an already confusing system harder to use. Kansas has not expanded Medicaid, so thousands fall into a coverage gap. They earn too much for Medicaid but too little for subsidized plans. As Commissioner, I'll be a voice for affordability, push for clear consumer information, and make sure Kansans know every option available to them.

Yes. Mental health care is health care and coverage should reflect that. Federal and state parity laws already require most plans to cover mental health and substance use treatment on par with physical health, but parity on paper means little when patients face limited networks, prior authorization hurdles, and claim denials. As Commissioner, I will enforce parity laws: auditing insurers' networks and denial rates, holding companies accountable when they make patients jump through hoops physical health patients don't face, and ensuring policies sold in Kansas (including short-term and limited plans) clearly disclose what they do and don't cover. Kansas families dealing with a mental health crisis shouldn't also have to battle their insurance company. Standing up for policyholders is a core reason I'm running, and mental health coverage is where that fight matters most.

Yes, without hesitation. Kansas is one of only a handful of states that still hasn't expanded Medicaid, and we pay the price every day: roughly 150,000 Kansans in the coverage gap, rural hospitals closing or cutting services, and our federal tax dollars funding expansion in 40 other states instead of here. Expansion is supported by broad majorities of Kansans across party lines, by hospitals, chambers of commerce, and the medical community. In the Kansas Senate, I have fought for expansion year after year and watched leadership block even a vote. Beyond the moral case (no one should skip cancer screenings or ration insulin because of cost) expansion is sound economics: it supports rural health care jobs, reduces uncompensated care that drives up everyone's premiums, and strengthens our workforce. While the Commissioner doesn't pass expansion, I will use the office to share honest data on what the coverage gap costs Kansans and advocate for getting this done.

KanCare has fallen short of its promises. Privatization was sold as a way to improve outcomes and save money, but too often it has meant delayed and denied care, prior authorization roadblocks, providers waiting months for payment, and families stuck navigating three different managed care companies' rules. Rural providers in particular have struggled with administrative burdens and slow reimbursement. I would push for real accountability: transparent, public reporting of denial rates, appeal outcomes, and payment timeliness for each MCO; strong contract enforcement with meaningful penalties; simplified, standardized prior authorization; and genuine oversight of the pharmacy middlemen driving up costs, building on the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform work I helped pass in the Senate. Managed care companies are paid with taxpayer dollars to serve vulnerable Kansans. When they don't deliver, there must be consequences.

I've served ten years in the Kansas Senate, including six as Senate Minority Leader, the first woman in Kansas history to hold that role. I've worked on the insurance issues this office oversees: PBM reform, health coverage access, and consumer protections, including housing protections for domestic violence survivors I carried across party lines. Before the Senate, I ran my own small business, so I know what insurance costs mean for a family's bottom line. My career has been built on listening to all sides, telling Kansans' stories, and finding bipartisan solutions. I've traveled the state from Johnson County to western Kansas and heard the same thing: costs are too high, insurance is confusing, and people feel like they're on their own. I'm endorsed by former Insurance Commissioners from both parties, Sandy Praeger (R) and Kathleen Sebelius (D). I'll put politics aside, let the process work, and put Kansans first.