MISSION – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4 a.m. on Friday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy Silverado driven by Matthew S. Doan, 33, Shawnee, was on the ramp from Interstate 35 southbound to Interstate 635 north.

While negotiating the curve of the ramp, the truck struck the guardrail.

The driver overcorrected and traveled off the roadway through a grassy ditch.

The truck went airborne, crossing Interstate 635.

Doan was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call.

The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

By Jim McLean

Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius didn’t mince words when asked about the direction of Kansas politics during an event Thursday night at the Dole Institute of Politics. Making one of her first Kansas public appearances since stepping down in June as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sebelius called the re-election of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback “a low point” in the state’s political history.

“Every time I think it can’t get any worse, it does,” Sebelius said in an apparent reference to the deepening budget crisis triggered by tax cuts and plummeting revenues.

“So, I hesitate to say ‘how low can you go.’” The Democrat, whose final months at HHS were marred by the problem-plagued rollout of the health reform law, was especially critical of Brownback’s recent decision to rescind an executive order that she issued to protect state employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or sexual identity. Sebelius said she signed the order in 2007 to “send a strong signal that we wanted a talented and diverse workforce.”

She said she had “no idea” what compelled Brownback to repeal a policy that had been in place for eight years and “seemed to be working well.” “It’s distressing,” she continued. “But I think we need to be clear to people around the United States, this is not Kansas. This is not what the state was founded on.

This is not what we believe in. And this is not an acceptable policy going forward.” In the statement explaining his decision, Brownback said Sebelius’ order inappropriately gave state employees protections not enjoyed by other citizens. Rescinding the order, he said, “ensures that state employees enjoy the same civil rights as all Kansans without creating additional protected classes.”

In addition, Brownback said, decisions to extend additional civil rights protections should be made by the Legislature, not “through unilateral action” by a governor. Sebelius’ comments about Kansas politics came in response to questions from members of an overflow audience that turned out for the first in a series of lectures on women in politics at the institute on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence.

For most of the evening, the former governor chatted with Bill Lacy, the institute’s director, about her experiences as a woman in politics, her relationship with President Barack Obama and the political and executive challenges she faced during her career. When technical problems with a microphone delayed the start of the conversation, a relaxed Sebelius quipped,

“Kind of the like the website,” a reference to well-publicized troubles with the healthcare.gov website at its launch. Sebelius said the early days of the rollout and the final days of the lobbying effort for the ACA were among her most challenging as secretary. “We had a lot of near-death experiences,” she said of the days leading up to the vote in Congress.

“There were lots of times when it seemed like it was all going down the tubes.” Even when the bill’s prospects seemed bleak, Sebelius said, President Obama resisted calls to pare back the bill and compromise to save political face.

“He kept saying, ‘If there’s a chance for a comprehensive bill, this is the time,’” she recalled. In a brief interview after the program, Sebelius said she believes the ACA will survive because by the time President Obama leaves office, tens of millions of Americans will have come to depend on it for health insurance.

In addition, she said, it will be difficult to reverse the changes the law has made in the health care system. “I think the framework is now kind of in the DNA of the health system in a way that will be very difficult to turn back,” she said.

While making no predictions, Sebelius said, she finds it “hard to believe” that the U.S. Supreme Court will side in an upcoming case with those who contend that Congress intended to make ACA tax credits available to consumers only in states that set up their own marketplaces.

“To have that available only to a certain portion of the population seems ludicrous,” she said. Kansas is one of several states that declined to establish its own online marketplace, forcing consumers to use one set up by the federal government. More than 80 percent of Kansans who selected plans during the current enrollment period have qualified for tax credits that lower the cost of their premiums, according to HHS. Finally, Sebelius said Kansas’ refusal to expand Medicaid has deprived tens of thousands of low-income Kansans of coverage they need.

“Folks who are in states not expanding Medicaid are in terrible trouble,” she said. Brownback and GOP legislative leaders opposed to participating in expansion have said they’re concerned the federal government will not fulfill its obligation to pay 100 percent of expansion costs for three years and no less than 90 percent thereafter. Sebelius said those concerns are unfounded.

“The bill is fully paid for even if all 50 states come in,” she said. State officials who continue to have doubts, she said, could protect themselves by including language in their plans that automatically returns eligibility to pre-expansion levels if federal funding dips below the 90 percent threshold. “Lots of states have said, ‘If the deal changes, we’re out,’” Sebelius said. “And we’ve said from the beginning, ‘That’s just fine.’

Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts on Thursday introduced legislation to block a rationing tool known as comparative effectiveness research (CER) from denying or delaying coverage of health care treatments for patients in federal health programs such as Medicare.

“Health care is not one size fits all. Comparative effectiveness research is a tool the government can use to limit a patient’s options for treatment and effectively ration care. My bill closes the door on this irresponsible option. The government should never interfere with decisions made between a patient and their doctor,” Roberts said.

The “Preserving Access to Targeted, Individualized, and Effective New Treatments and Services (PATIENTS) Act of 2015” prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from using data obtained from CER to deny or delay coverage of an item or service under a federal health care program. It also requires the Secretary to ensure that any CER conducted or supported by the federal government accounts for those factors that contribute to differences in treatment response as well as patient preference, including patient-reported outcomes, genomics and personalized medicine, the unique needs of health disparity populations, and indirect patient benefits.

“We have seen how comparative effectiveness research works in Canada and the United Kingdom, and it is the patient who ends up paying the price for increased government intervention in the doctor-patient relationship,” Roberts said.

“Americans do not want the federal government limiting their treatment options and deciding what is best for them. They want to be informed and work with their doctor to determine the best individualized plan of care.”

Since the health care reform debate in 2009, Senator Roberts has been an outspoken opponent of rationing care as a way to cut costs. As a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Roberts fought the use of rationing in the new health care law during both committees’ consideration of the bill.

Cosponsors include Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Rob Portman (R-OH).

LANSING, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died in a mobile home fire in eastern Kansas.

Chief Rick Huhn of Leavenworth County Fire District No. 1 said crews arrived on Thursday afternoon to find heavy smoke.

He says the man’s body was found inside the Lansing residence after firefighters were able to control the blaze. His identity wasn’t released.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

By ANDY MARSO

Retired grocery store executive David Dillon had a simple answer Wednesday to concerns that allowing stores like his to sell full-strength liquor would increase underage drinking.

“Hogwash,” Dillon said.

Dillon is the former chief executive of Kroger, owner of the Dillons franchise of Kansas grocery stores and one of the nation’s largest retailers.

He told the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee that Kroger’s Kansas stores already safely sell other restricted products like pharmaceuticals, tobacco and low-strength beer.

“We have proven ourselves to be a responsible citizen of the state,” Dillon said, “and in all the other 25 states where Kroger does business and has these products in the store, we have a similarly strong track record.”

Dillon was among those who testified for House Bill 2200, legislation that would allow full-strength beer, wine and liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores starting in 2018.

Opponents are scheduled to testify Thursday and neutral testimony is set for Friday. Rep. Mark Hutton, a Republican from Wichita who chairs the committee, said he expects the committee to debate and possibly vote on the bill late next week.

Legislators have unsuccessfully introduced similar bills in each of the last few sessions. This year’s bill attempts to quell opposition from liquor store owners by capping the number of full-liquor Class B licenses statewide and allowing liquor store owners to sell their licenses to grocers or convenience stores within the same county. Grocery and convenience stores would be able to access an uncapped number of Class A licenses limited to full-strength beer sales.

A study released last year by the Kansas Health Institute, found that expanding liquor licenses in the state has the potential to increase underage drinking https://www.khi.org/news/article/potential-health-effects-expanding-liquor-licenses, unless the expansion is accompanied by other regulatory controls. Other public health impacts could include an increase in traffic fatalities and sexually transmitted diseases, according to the study.

Much of the proponent testimony Wednesday centered on consumer convenience and the ideals of free market competition.

But consumers who had lived in other states that allow liquor sales in grocery stores testified that they saw no negative effects.

Aaron Rosenow, owner of Vern’s Retail Liquor and leader of a group of Kansas liquor store owners who oppose the bill, said after the hearing that he has seen evidence to the contrary.

Rosenow pointed to Washington state, which two years ago opened alcohol sales to private retailers, including supermarkets, after previously allowing them only at state-controlled liquor stores.

“Now they have the highest theft of alcohol they’ve ever seen,” Rosenow said. “It’s exponential numbers. Thirty, forty thousand dollars one guy got away with per month, stealing high-end booze and selling it at pure profit.”

The bill being considered in the Kansas House also would lower the age at which a store employee could sell alcohol from 21 to 18, but only if the employee is supervised by another employee who is 21 or older.

Rep. Rick Billinger, a Republican from Goodland, asked Dillon if that has caused problems in other states.

“You ever have any fines for these 18-year-olds selling alcohol to their friends who are 18?” Billinger said.

“We’ve had a few,” Dillon said.

Dillon said the company had one such instance last year in Kansas, where its stores can only sell beer up to 3.2 percent alcohol content. Dillon said corporate training has minimized such infractions.

“We’re actually very proud of our record, and we push ourselves hard,” Dillon said.

Tom Palace, who testified for the bill on behalf of convenience store owners, said those stores also already safely sell age-restricted products like lottery tickets and cigarettes.

“Obviously compliance is an important issue for us, and we take precautions,” Palace said.

Palace said technology allows convenience store owners to take “human error” out of the equation when it comes to checking consumers’ identification cards. Software now allows clerks to punch in a birthdate and immediately be told whether the consumer is of age.

Rosenow said that system wouldn’t be sufficient to stop an 18-year-old convenience store clerk from selling a bottle of vodka to an underage friend for a party.

“If a 21-year-old is on the floor in the back room doing something and his friend comes up and he’s the only one at a gas station that sells hard liquor or hard beer, it’s not going to take that long to enter in a fake birthdate to skirt their system of controlling regulation of the age of who buys a product,” Rosenow said.

Editor’s note:  The Kansas Health Institute is the parent organization of the editorially independent KHI News Service.

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gay rights supporters are planning a weekend rally at the Kansas Statehouse to protest the end of anti-discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgendered workers in much of state government.

The event at noon Saturday is a response to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s decision this week to narrow a policy that covers hiring and employment decisions in state agencies controlled directly by the governor.

Brownback rescinded an executive order issued in August 2007 by then-Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

A state law barring discrimination in housing and private employment doesn’t cover such bias, and Brownback said Sebelius acted unilaterally in her order. Brownback said the Legislature should decide whether to extend such protections to gays and lesbians in state government.