Sandy Praeger

Sandy Praeger
Sandy Praeger
24th Kansas Insurance Commissioner
	In office; January 13, 2003 – January 12, 2015
Governor	Kathleen Sebelius; Mark Parkinson; Sam Brownback
Preceded by	Kathleen Sebelius
Succeeded by	Ken Selzer
Member of the Kansas Senate; from the 2nd district
	In office; January 11, 1993 – January 13, 2003
Preceded by	Wint Winter Jr.
Succeeded by	Mark Buhler
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives; from the 44th district
	In office; January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1993
Preceded by	Jessie M. Branson
Succeeded by	Barbara Ballard
Personal details
Born	October 21, 1944; Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mark Praeger
Alma mater	University of Kansas

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.

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

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
"Kansas Legislators, Past and Present - Praeger, Sandy". kslib.info. State Library of Kansas. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
Kansas Insurance Department, About KID, retrieved August 4, 2007
"Kansas Insurance Department - About Us". insurance.kansas.gov. Kansas Insurance Department. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
NAIC Commissioner
"Election 2014: How the Results Will Impact Insurers and Insurance Regulation". Insurance Compliance Insight. ProBusiness Publishing LLC. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
McLean, Jim (September 16, 2014). "Praeger favors Democrat to succeed her as insurance commissioner". Kansas Health Institute. Retrieved November 7, 2014.

External links

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[campaignabout-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

[kslib-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.