To the editor:

Senate Bill 163? Anyone heard of it? I doubt it, but it actually passed the Kansas Senate without citizen knowledge. It is an utterly foolish bill meant to permit health insurance policies to get around the state’s coverage of things like immunizations, diabetes care and other services and treatments provided by podiatrists, pharmacists and other providers.

This bill obviously is an effort to ignore both state mandates and requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act to buy health policies through the mandated federal exchanges. People buying such policies would be duped and would have thrown their money away when they purchased these worthless policies. As Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said, “It’s a real lack of understanding of how health insurance works.” She, incidentally, was not asked to be part of the process in drafting this idiotic bill.

This citizen deplores the incompetent GOP senators who govern us. This bill is still on the governor’s desk, begging to be signed. I would like to know the names of the senators who voted for this bill. Wouldn’t you?