Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick announced Thursday that his former chief of staff, Christie Kriegshauser, is returning to that post after a stint as a lobbyist for the Kansas Chamber.

Kriegshauser will replace Wade Hapgood, who announced he is taking a new job as vice-president of state government affairs for UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the three companies that contracts to manage the Kansas Medicaid system known as KanCare.

Kriegshauser began working for Merrick in 2007 when he was House Majority Leader. She later worked as chief of staff to former House Speaker Mike O’Neal, who is now CEO of the Kansas Chamber. She remained in the speaker’s office when Merrick was elected to that post in 2013, but moved to the Chamber to work again with O’Neal after the 2013 legislative session.