TOPEKA — Governor Sam Brownback has tapped the state Medicaid director to replace Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Robert Moser on a temporary basis.

Susan Mosier, an ophthalmologist and former Republican legislator who also serves as director of KDHE’s Division of Health Care Finance, will become interim secretary when Moser leaves at the end of November.

“I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of Bob Moser over the past four years and wish him and his family well as he pursues new opportunities,” Brownback said in a news release Thursday. “Susan Mosier has been a tremendous asset at KDHE and I am pleased she will continue to serve Kansas and the Kansas Medicaid program in this new role.”

Susan Mosier has a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University, an MBA from the University of Texas and a medical degree from the University of Kansas. She is the former owner of Mosier Eye Care in Manhattan, where she specialized in eye surgery.

Robert Moser was a family practice doctor who served as the chief of staff and medical director of Greeley County Health Services before Brownback named him to head KDHE in January 2011. Moser presided over the agency’s transition to KanCare, a system of managed care in which the state’s Medicaid programs are administered by three private health insurance companies who receive state contracts and performance bonuses.

Moser announced his resignation earlier this week. Brownback’s office said Thursday that Moser is leaving to pursue other opportunities in health education at KU Hospital and KU Medical School.

 

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.