Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback’s gubernatorial campaign is scheduling a Monday press conference to announce plans for a four-day, 32-city bus tour.

The1,000-mile tour, called “Roadmap for Kansas,” will mark the beginning of a month-long process aimed at sharing the candidate’s position on several issues, including health care, said Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a campaign spokeswoman.

The tour will begin when the bus leaves Brownback’s campaign headquarters in Topeka at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“From there we’ll be headed west,” Jones-Sontag said.

The full itinerary will be announced Monday. Details about the press conference will be announced tomorrow, she said.

Brownback, his running mate, State Sen. Jeff Colyer, R-Overland Park, and their families are scheduled to travel on the bus.

Members of the media are being invited to ride along, Jones-Sontag said.

The stops are expected to include a mix of campaign appearances, press conferences, and tours. Different topics will be discussed at different stops.

The campaign intends to complete the “Roadmap for Kansas” tour in time for the Sept. 10 start of the Kansas State Fair.

At some point, the candidates will discuss their health reform plan, Jones-Sontag said, noting that Brownback has already spoken in support of “protecting health insurance options by working on behalf of Kansas businesses and residents,” and of keeping health care affordable and accessible in the state’s rural and urban areas.

“More details will be coming out over the next months,” she said.

In the Senate, Brownback has been an outspoken opponent of the federal health reform signed into law in April. He has acknowledged it is unlikely Republicans will be able to repeal the law while Obama is president. Instead, he has called for Congress to "defund," the reform initiatives.

The health reform law includes broad latitude for states to implement and oversee key components of the law. But the reform law also includes provisions that would have the federal government step in to manage the initiatives, if states choose not to.

Most of the reform's key elements, including Medicaid expansion and the requirement that all people have health insurance or pay a tax penalty, aren't scheduled to begin until 2014. But some provisions, including one that allows young adults to remain on their parent's health plans, are already in place.