By Mike Shields
KHI News Service
Aug. 4, 2008

TOPEKA — Ken Daniel, a Topeka small business owner and advocate has been chosen to replace Connie Hubbell on the Kansas Health Policy Authority board.

“I’ve got the official letter,” Daniel said.

The letter was from House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, appointing Daniel to a term that expires March 15, 2012.

Daniel, owner of a building supply firm that employs about 110 people, has been a presence at the Statehouse each legislative session for the past several years. He has been an unpaid, but registered, lobbyist, speaking on behalf of small businesses.

Hubbell, who has served as the board’s chairperson, announced recently that she would step down this month to pursue a lobbying career.

Daniel is an outspoken champion of “consumer-directed” health care policies, saying they offer a way to help control spiraling health care spending.

“What that does is get the money spent smarter,” Daniel said, “but it also takes the money partly out of the hands of the insurance company and leaves it in the hands of the consumer and I think that’s part of the solution. It has worlds of potential that we have not yet developed, especially in Kansas.”

Daniel has attended most health policy authority board meetings since the board was created and also serves on a health policy authority advisory council.

Outspoken in most forums, he said he plans to begin his term on the board listening more than talking.

“I’m going to do a whole lot of shutting up,” he said, “because there’s a lot of these areas where I haven’t studied up as much. My normal pattern going in is to try not to accept anything at face value and build up a base of personal knowledge. Some of these things, like Medicaid and SCHIP, I really need to learn more before I start opening my mouth.”

But Daniel said he will bring needed small business experience and knowledge to the board.

He said he will continue to lobby the Legislature on small business issues, if ethics rule don’t prohibit him doing that while on the health policy authority board.

He said Neufeld expressed no expectations of him when appointing him to the board. Members serve without salary.

“He just asked me if I’d be interested in going on the authority and after a long silence I said: Yeah OK, I would.”

“When I considered this appointment I thought long about whose voice was missing from the KHPA board…small Kansas businesses,” Neufeld said. “And as the owner of Midway Wholesale, Ken knows from first-hand experience the many challenges small businesses face, especially when it comes to the cost of providing health insurance to their employees.  He also has studied this issue carefully and has been a strong advocate for small businesses.”

Neufeld has said earlier that he expects to reappoint Garen Cox to the health policy authority board. Cox and Hubbell were the only members with terms expiring this year.

-Mike Shields is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at mshields@khi.org or at 785-233-5443,ext. 123.