Sandy Praeger

Sandy Praeger (born October 21, 1944) is a former politician from the U.S. state of Kansas who served as the Kansas Insurance Commissioner from 2003 to 2015. Prior to her term as insurance commissioner, she was a member of the Kansas Senate and Kansas House of Representatives, and served as mayor of Lawrence, Kansas. Although she won her elections as a Republican, she disagreed with the more conservative faction in her party, eventually leading her to endorse a Democrat to succeed her as insurance commissioner.

Sandy Praeger
24th Kansas Insurance Commissioner
In office
January 13, 2003  January 12, 2015
GovernorKathleen Sebelius
Mark Parkinson
Sam Brownback
Preceded byKathleen Sebelius
Succeeded byKen Selzer
Member of the Kansas Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 11, 1993  January 13, 2003
Preceded byWint Winter Jr.
Succeeded byMark Buhler
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 44th district
In office
January 14, 1991  January 11, 1993
Preceded byJessie M. Branson
Succeeded byBarbara Ballard
Personal details
Born (1944-10-21) October 21, 1944
Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMark Praeger
Alma materUniversity of Kansas

Political career

Early career

Praeger was a member of the city commission in her hometown of Lawrence, Kansas from 1985 to 1989, including a stint as mayor from 1986 to 1987.[1] She served one term in the Kansas House of Representatives, elected in 1990; in 1992, she won the first of her three terms in the Kansas State Senate, representing the 2nd District.[2] Praeger served in the State Senate from 1993 to 2002, when she was elected as insurance commissioner; Mark Buhler was elected to finish out the remaining two years of her term as State Senator.

Insurance Commissioner

Praeger was elected Insurance Commissioner on November 2, 2002, and her term began January 13, 2003. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2010 to the same position. As commissioner, she was responsible for regulating all insurance sold in Kansas and overseeing the nearly 1,700 insurance companies and 110,000 agents licensed to do business in the state.[3][4]

Praeger is also the former president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and has been their spokesperson in favor of maintaining state insurance regulation rather than an optional federal charter.[5]

During her term in office, she supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and opposed conservative Republican Governor Sam Brownback's plan to join a nine-state healthcare compact.[6]

Praeger chose not to seek re-election in 2014. Instead, she chose to endorse the Democratic candidate, Dennis Anderson, to succeed her as Insurance Commissioner.[7]

Praeger is a graduate of the University of Kansas.[1]

Organizations

  • Speaker, American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Speaker, American Association of Health Plans
  • Founding Member, Court Appointed Special Advocates
  • Speaker, Forum for State Health Policy Leadership
  • Founding Member, Haskell Indian Nations University Foundation
  • Founding Member, Health Care Access
  • Speaker, National Association of Chain Drug Stores
  • Speaker, National Association of Health Data Organizations
  • President-Elect/Secretary/Treasurer, National Association of Insurance Commissioners
  • Former Vice-Chair, National Association of Insurance Commissioners Midwestern Zone
  • Speaker, National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Board of Directors, United Way of Douglas County
  • Speaker, Women in Government.

References

  1. Sandy Praeger Campaign web site Archived December 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine "Meet Sandy" section, and Meet Sandy Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved August 4, 2007
  2. "Kansas Legislators, Past and Present - Praeger, Sandy". kslib.info. State Library of Kansas. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  3. Kansas Insurance Department, About KID, retrieved August 4, 2007
  4. "Kansas Insurance Department - About Us". insurance.kansas.gov. Kansas Insurance Department. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  5. NAIC Commissioner
  6. "Election 2014: How the Results Will Impact Insurers and Insurance Regulation". Insurance Compliance Insight. ProBusiness Publishing LLC. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  7. McLean, Jim (September 16, 2014). "Praeger favors Democrat to succeed her as insurance commissioner". Kansas Health Institute. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
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