Office of Speaker Neufeld: SPEAKER MAKES APPOINTMENTS TO KHPA BOARD
- TOPEKA BUSINESSMAN KEN DANIEL TO SERVE 4-YEAR TERM

FROM THE OFFICE OF SPEAKER NEUFELD

August 04, 2008

Contact: Sherriene Jones-Sontag
Office of Speaker Melvin Neufeld
785/296-2302


Topeka – Kansas Speaker of the House of Representatives Melvin Neufeld (R-Ingalls) announced today he has appointed Topeka businessman Ken Daniel and reappointed Garen Cox to four-year terms on the Kansas Health Policy Authority’s Board of Directors.

  Speaker Neufeld said their experience and backgrounds were the deciding factors in asking them to serve on the board.

  “When I considered these appointments, I thought about whose voice was missing from the KHPA’s board – small Kansas businesses.  As the owner of Midway Wholesale, Ken knows from firsthand experience the many challenges businesses face – especially when it comes to the cost of providing health insurance to their employees,” Speaker Neufeld said.  “He also has studied this issue carefully and has spoken out when he felt policies being considered would harm Kansas businesses.  I am confident he will continue to serve as a strong advocate for small businesses and all Kansans.”

  Ken Daniel is Chief Operating Officer and owner of Topeka-based Midway Wholesale, a wholesale distributor of building materials with seven branches in Kansas and one in Nebraska and is publisher of http://KsSmallBiz.com.  Daniel is active in a number of business organizations including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and Topeka Independent Business Association (TIBA) which he serves as its Chairman.

  "I was pleased to learn of Speaker Neufeld's appointment of Ken Daniel to the KHPA Board.  For more than twenty years now, the more than 4,500 members of NFIB/Kansas has listed "providing affordable health insurance" as the number one issue facing their businesses today,” said Derrick Sontag, State Director for NFIB/Kansas.  “No one better understands how this issue affects small business than Ken Daniel.  Ken believes, along with Speaker Neufeld and myself that when health care is fixed for small business, it's fixed for Kansas."

   Speaker Neufeld said he asked Garen Cox to serve another term on the KHPA board because of his 32 years of experience in the long-term care industry.

  “Many Kansans and their families rely on nursing homes and assisted living facilities for their long-term care.  That is why it is important we make sure these facilities provide the best care possible.  Garen understands the challenges of long-term care in our state and has served Kansas well,” Neufeld said.

  Cox is President and Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel for Medicalodges, Inc., the state’s largest nursing home chain.

  “The KHPA is pleased that Speaker Neufeld has chosen to reappoint Garen Cox to the KHPA Board. He has been a valued Board member who provided thoughtful support to the agency during his first term. We are also pleased by the appointment of Ken Daniel to the Board, who has been an active member of our Purchaser Council and a strong proponent of health reform for small business,” said Dr. Marcia Nielsen, KHPA Executive Director.

  The Kansas Legislature created the Kansas Health Policy Authority in 2005 to coordinate a statewide health policy agenda that incorporates effective purchasing and administration with health promotion strategies and to provide the Legislature with information regarding trends in the use and cost of health care for improved decision making.  Its nine-member board includes health care, business, and community leaders appointed by the Legislature and the Governor as well as seven ex-officio members that include State Cabinet Secretaries and the Director of KHPA.