Excerpt from Interview of Bob Tomlinson, August 2024: Medicaid Expansion
Interviewed by Chris Courtwright
Bob Tomlinson served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1993 to 2002 representing the Roeland Park area in Johnson County. He was known as a moderate Republican. He also served as Assistant Commissioner in the Kansas Department of Insurance and various other state government positions. In his August 2024 interview, he talks about Medicaid Expansion and why it should pass. His full interview and transcript is in the Statehouse Conversations collection. It is full of funny stories about other prominent politicians of the era.
Bob Tomlinson had a long, distinguished and diverse career in public service. In addition to representing Roeland Park, Ks in the state House of Representatives from 1993-2002, he served as Assistant Insurance Commissioner for decade, and then in late 2012 was named Director of the Kansas Office of Administrative Hearings in the Department of Administration. After a year or so at that job, he moved again to the position of Special Projects Coordinator for the State Employee Health Plan, a job he held from roughly 2014-2018. Beginning in 2018 Tomlinson worked on behalf of the administration as a liaison who helped Department on Aging staff understand legislative nuances and procedures. Tomlinson is a graduate of the University of Kansas with an undergraduate degree in education. He acquired multiple master’s-level degrees and certifications from Baker University. With certifications in both special education and administration, he worked for a number of years in both capacities at an alternative school affiliated with the Shawnee Mission School District. At the time of this interview, he was retired.
May 6, 1957
February 11, 2025
Republican
24
Kansas Statehouse, Topeka