A Message from KMS Executive Director
The Kansas legislature returns to Topeka and will begin the 90-day session on Monday, January 12th. Though elections may feel far away, their impending impact already looms large over the Statehouse Dome. Four Senators of the forty-member body have already filed for statewide office, with two democrats and one Republican running for Governor, another running for Insurance Commissioner. The House will also be affected by the pressure to kick-off campaign season, with the Speaker of the House also running for Insurance Commissioner. While this may not seem relevant now, it will no doubt impact the issues each chamber champions, party positions, and efforts to hasten the legislative session so candidates can begin hitting doorsteps and raising money earlier rather than later. Because it is the second year in the legislative biennium, bills from last year can carry forward without re-introduction and committees are likely to begin hearings and work in the first week.
Lawmakers have already begun to outline priorities, with many focused on allocation of the $222 million Rural Health Transformation Grant which was awarded by the federal government and will be appropriated over a five-year period. The grant required specific objectives to encourage self-sustaining projects over time. The Kansas Medical Society has been appointed by Governor Kelly to serve on the Rural Health Transformation Initiative Alliance to provide input on the implementation of the grant funds. The federal government did not provide a role for state legislatures in the grant process, resulting in frustration among lawmakers who are interested in the policy and appropriations and how both will overlap with state initiatives. As a result, there has been growing discussion among legislators about legislation to provide a clear role for state lawmakers in oversight and implementation of the grant funds.
There are several issues that will carry forward from the 2025 session, including in particular HB 2223, the Optometric Scope of Practice Bill. KMS has continued to have conversations with the ophthalmologic community and the Optometric Association about our objections to the bill as it is currently written, and how it could be improved. However, because the bill has already advanced last year from the Kansas House of Representatives with strong support (97-24 vote) and appears to have significant support in the Senate as well, it is positioned to be passed in some form this session The bill authorizes optometrists to perform three laser surgical procedures, and also allows the Optometric Board of Examiners to approve the use of new technologies or procedures without going to the legislature for additional authorization. KMS requested the bill be amended to instead require the existing Interprofessional Advisory Committee, comprised of 3 ophthalmologists and 3 optometrists, to meet and review new technologies or procedures and reach a majority vote to recommend their use to the board before being implemented. This preserves physician oversight in medical technology and practice. The Kansas Optometric Association has agreed to include this amendment in the bill moving forward. We also requested they include language requiring optometrists to participate in the Health Care Stabilization Fund to ensure that patients are assured a right to recovery for injuries caused by negligence as optometrists independently take on procedures that could result in patient harm. We expect that the Senate Health committee will pick up where it left off on this issue and could take action on the bill early in the session without another hearing since it was considered last session. The Kansas Medical Society opposes HB 2223 but is seeking the requested amendments in the event that it moves forward.
There will undoubtedly be other issues that carry forward and many new ones that crop up in the volatile vortex of the political process. The Kansas Medical Society is present at the statehouse every day, monitoring issues impacting the practice of medicine and building relationships to inform Kansas policymakers. If you have not already, we encourage you to register for The Kansas Medical Society Advocacy Day on Wednesday, January 21st. You will hear from House and Senate Leaders about their priorities and their response to the professions’ concerns. Both the Kansas Insurance Commissioner and the Governor have accepted our invitation to share in our event as well. Most importantly, we are looking forward to hearing from you and engaging you in our advocacy for your profession and patients. Please sign up to join us today.
As always, we are here to serve you and honored to do so. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about the legislative process or issues.
2026 Advocacy Day & Physician Day at the Statehouse
On behalf of the Kansas Medical Society, we would like to invite you to our upcoming annual Advocacy Day on January 21st, 2026. You will join physicians from across the state, of all specialties to learn about issues impacting the house of medicine. This opportunity is a great chance to connect with your legislative leaders and guide decision-making to generate support for policies on critical issues.
We are excited to report that legislative, physician, and statewide leaders as well as our Governor have been invited to speak that morning.
A physician’s priority is their patients. The Kansas Medical Society's mission is to ensure patient care remains physician-directed. KMS advocacy is steadfast in ensuring lawmakers are well-educated all year on the issues affecting the practice of medicine.
Our collective voice is essential to the House of Medicine’s continued leadership in healthcare.
Event Details
Kansas Medical Society
623 SW 10th Ave Topeka, KS, 66612
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026
7:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Registration
To register click or scan the QR code below.
Deadline to register is Friday, January 16, 2026 at 5pm.
Click Here to view a list of our 2026 Advocacy Day Specialty Society Partners & Corporate Sponsors
Issue Brief: Medical Malpractice Update
Last month we highlighted an issue – medical malpractice - that for much of the past two and a half decades has not been front of mind for physicians, hospitals and other healthcare professionals. This month we continue to shine a light on this issue and what recent developments means for physicians and others, particularly with some significantly higher jury verdicts in Kansas and the potential for the loss of crucial tort reforms.
Once very rare, enormous jury verdicts against physicians and hospitals are now happening with frightening frequency around the country. Last month we noted that perhaps because of the public’s post-pandemic loss of trust in established institutions and experts in all callings, including medicine – juries seem more willing to assess large damage awards to plaintiffs. This shift in juror attitudes is ominous, particularly in healthcare when injuries can be severe with lengthy associated continuing care costs, as well as significant noneconomic (“pain and suffering”) damages. While multi-million dollar awards are still relatively rare in Kansas, but with two in the last year alone, it is probably unrealistic to think that the national trend for higher jury verdicts won’t continue to spread here, particularly if our tort reforms are lost or further weakened.
As noted earlier, Kansas has a comprehensive, effective tort reform architecture. It carefully strikes a necessary balance between the rights of patients to have an assured source of recovery for injuries caused by medical negligence, with the need for the state to have a tort liability environment that allows physicians and other healthcare professionals to be able to practice here with affordable and available liability insurance. Though our tort reforms have proven to be effective, durable and constitutionally sound (at least for now), they are by no means bulletproof, as they can be weakened or lost altogether by legislative or judicial action.
It has been nearly seven years since the Kansas Supreme Court struck down the cap on noneconomic damages in a motor vehicle injury case. While the plaintiffs’ bar has been celebrating the elimination of one of the pillars of Kansas’ tort reforms, it wasn’t clear if the decision was also broad enough to strike down the cap on damages for medical malpractice cases.
There is now a medical malpractice case that is positioned to begin working its way up the judicial appeals ladder that may provide us with an answer the question of whether the cap (and some important, related reforms) still stands in medical malpractice cases. If the case reaches the Kansas Supreme Court, the verdict of the Court will be huge either way. If the cap is allowed to remain in place for medical malpractice cases, it will remove any uncertainty as to its applicability, and be a positive outcome for continued stability and affordable premiums. If however, the Court declares the cap to be unconstitutional for any one of several reasons certain to be asserted by the plaintiffs bar, it will be a catastrophic blow to the stable, affordable liability environment that Kansas physicians have known for the past twenty-five years.
The loss of the cap on noneconomic (“pain and suffering”) damages would fundamentally alter the liability landscape for healthcare professionals and institutions in Kansas. Without question liability insurance costs would increase. With public attitudes about litigation changing, and with juries more willing to justify large verdicts against those in a healthcare system that they view as excessively costly and difficult to navigate, well…if you have any doubts about how the plaintiffs’ bar will respond to this opportunity, just turn on the television.
Next Month's Issue Brief:
What are the politcs surrounding this issue in Kansas?
Practical Uses of AI in Clinical Care
For those interested in the use of artificial intelligence in the clinical setting, please click the link below to learn about several upcoming virtual seminars. These seminars offer valuable opportunities to learn from KU experts and clinicians who are actively using AI in their clinical workflows.
Click Here to learn more.
