2023 Legislative Updates
Kansas Legislative Update
March 21, 2025
Final Days of the 2025 Session
As we approach the end of the 2025 session, the priorities of the legislature have come into focus. First, legislative leaders changed the traditional legislative calendar from 90 business days to 90 calendar days, which significantly compressed the amount of time available for consideration of bills as well as passing the state budget, which is one of the primary responsibilities. The legislature also was clear that providing property tax relief was also a high priority.
This session marks the first year of legislative biennium, meaning that issues that were not enacted or did not advance from one body to the opposite chamber in this legislative session will remain alive for consideration of the 2026 session.
There have been a host of issues introduced this session that impacted the House of Medicine, ranging from public health, workforce issues, Medicaid and, of course, the ever present scope of practice issues including pharmacists, nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and optometrists all seeking to expand the limits of their authorized practice privileges.
SB 67, the CRNA bill that as introduced would essentially dissolve the interdependent relationship between CRNAs and physicians and dentists, with the only limitations being that CRNAs engaging in independent practice could not perform surgery for implantation of medication reservoirs nor could they perform, induce or prescribe drugs for an abortion. The bill was amended in the Senate committee to limit their independent authority to prescribe drugs and order durable medical equipment, which mirrors the changes made two years ago granting the three other categories of ARNPs’ independent prescribing privileges. The amended bill has passed the Senate and the House-held committee and awaits action by the full House of Representatives.
Similarly, HB 2223 would allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures including the use of lasers and to prescribe drugs without any limitation. The bill would also allow the Board of Optometry to authorize any additional procedures for treatment of eye that weren’t specifically prohibited by the bill. Based on earlier indications from House leaders, it was believed that because the bill was controversial and lacked a workable compromise between the optometric and medical professions, it wouldn’t advance this session. However, the bill was passed out of the House Health Committee in its final meeting this session. Committee members acknowledged that they had heard from hundreds of physicians and optometrists before the Committee’s action on the bill. It was expected to be debated on the House floor and, if passed, it will move over to the Senate where, if it is not acted upon this session due to time constraints, it will remain alive for further consideration next session.
Legislators generally tend to voice distain for refereeing these scopes of practice issues as health care regulation is complex, often with overlapping roles and responsibilities, competencies, competition, patient safety concerns and lack of consensus or compromise between the professions. Although there is no substitute for the depth and breadth of medical training, some continue to believe that training in one procedure is equivalent to comprehensive training in differential diagnosis and direction of care and that limiting scope limits access to care.
While these facts do not bear out, politics prevail and timing and messaging are critical. The Kansas Medical Society truly supports that if education, training and regulation are not consistent, quality and outcomes for patients suffer. Creating two tiers of medical and surgical care does not serve Kansas patients but instead trades so called “access” for quality and creates inconsistency in the regulation and delivery of healthcare. KMS continues to advocate for patients receiving the highest quality care and for training and regulatory requirements which protect them.
There were hundreds of physicians who contacted KMS to attempt to stop the bill in Committee, but the timing and pressure outweighed the ability to educate and stop this bill. KMS continues to urge all physicians to reach out to our legislators with their concerns about this bill of allowing non-physicians to perform surgery without adequate training or regulation from a Board that includes physicians trained in surgery and the practice of medicine. KMS is encouraging everyone to contact their Kansas House representative and to draft an email urging them to vote no on HB 2223, which expands the scope of practice for optometrists to include surgical procedures.
The 2025 session is in its final days with committee work wrapping up. If you have questions or concerns regarding these bills, please feel free to contact the executive director of KMS, Rachelle Colombo.
Kari Clark, FACMPE
Kansas Legislative Liaison
FEDERAL ADVOCACY
| In an effort to help facilitate Kansas MGMA's federal advocacy efforts., National MGMA-ACMPE has provided us with a link to their grassroots center. This link will send you directly to the MGMA Legislative Action Center, where Federal updates and grassroots messages are routinely updated by MGMA government affairs staff. |
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