Topic: Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT)

Interview of Brenda Landwehr, May 5, 2026

Interviewed by Robert St. Peter

Brenda Landwehr went to the Legislature to solve problems. She didn't shy away from the tough ones, either. "I've always been one of those people that it's like, put up or shut up. You can only complain so long." So, she "jumped in with both feet" to the Legislative Health Academy, learned a lot, and at the end of the day, the participants had a great dialogue. Brenda tackled foster care privatization, trying to get the judges to participate. She chaired the Mental Health Modernization Committee and the Joint Committee on Children's Issues. Show More Child behavioral health issues became a passion for her and she started a pilot program in six districts around Kansas. During her second stint in the legislature she was chairing important committees that dealt with the state budget and Medicaid. After 22 years of public service, Landwehr remains one of the most knowledgeable people about health policy issues. Her interview is a good read! Show Less

Interview of Susan Concannon, June 4, 2026

Interviewed by Robert St. Peter

This interview really focuses on Susan Concannon's interest in health issues. She discusses managed care, who is on Medicaid, what are the eligibility requirements and who the expansion of Medicaid would impact. She offers some ideas about why the issue never passed-- the woodwork effect, the transition to managed care. She was always a proponent. "I wasn’t really treated as an outcast, but I knew that I differed from many of my Republican colleagues on committee." Concannon was removed from her position as Vice Chair of the House Health Committee as a punishment for her Show Morevotes supporting Medicaid expansion. She noted that the reasons not to vote for expansion changed over time: fiscal note too large; Congress will repeal; waiting list for the I/DD PD was too long; Catholic Church's position on abortion. The interview also explores her views on the national health rankings that have declined for Kansas. She strongly believe that Kansas' decline has been "because of the cuts that we made in social services and with not expanding Medicaid. Access to care is such an issue ... I would guess that the reason we popped back up a little bit is the work that we’ve done in the mental health arena and then the new hospital designation." Show Less