Kansas senator, an ivermectin advocate, instructs doctors on COVID treatment in letter

Kansas Sen. Mark Steffen is instructing hospitals and clinics that they have a duty to use FDA-approved drugs to treat COVID-19 regardless of their labeled uses — strongly suggesting doctors must prescribe ivermectin and other medications that aren’t approved to treat the virus.

Steffen, an anesthesiologist, has long been a proponent of unproven treatments during the pandemic. As a senator, he advocates for legislation that would offer protections to doctors who prescribe the drugs even as he is under investigation by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts.

The Hutchinson Republican is now taking his efforts a step further, sending letters on official Senate stationery to health care providers telling them that the way COVID-19 patients are treated has changed and that they will be shielded from Board of Healing Arts “interference.”

He cites the recent Senate passage of a measure, House Bill 2280, that specifically authorizes doctors to prescribe ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, among other drugs, to treat COVID-19.

But the proposal hasn’t passed the Legislature and may never become law. It remains bogged down in negotiations with the House. Even if it’s later approved, Gov. Laura Kelly could veto it.

Still, Steffen writes in the letter, dated March 31, that with the Senate vote, “there is no reason to think that prescribing problems will arise from pharmacist or Board of Healing Arts interference.”

“The standard of care is early treatment with FDA-approved medication regardless of their labelled uses,” Steffen writes. “Delays in institution of these treatments are no longer acceptable. The Healthcare Provider has a legal duty to ensure facilitation of treatment as expeditiously as possible. Delayed treatment worsens outcomes.”

Standard of care refers to what a competent physician would do in similar circumstances.

Copies of the letter are circulating on social media this week. On his campaign Facebook page, Steffen wrote that the letter “went to over 250 Kansas hospitals, clinics, and government agencies.”

Steffen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

In a statement, Susan Gile, acting director of the Board of Healing Arts, said House Bill 2280 “does not mandate any type of prevention.”

“Other than that, the Board has no response to his letter and we have not made any changes to our complaint or investigative process,” Gile said.

Rep. John Eplee, an Atchison Republican and a physician, said several of his fellow physicians at Amberwell Health in Atchison had received a letter. He said they were perplexed by it, “to say the least.”

“It’s somewhat historic. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that by, frankly, anyone in the House or the Senate sending out letters of instruction to in this case a professional group of physicians on a matter like this,” said Rep. John Eplee, an Atchison Republican and a physician.

Rachelle Colombo, director of the Kansas Medical Society, said she had referred the letter to the board. She said the letter is unusual and that “there has been a lot of concern” from those who have received a copy.

Steffen has said he is under investigation by the board and has acknowledged prescribing ivermectin. He has declined to confirm whether the investigation involves those prescriptions, but has said it includes his public statements, which have been supportive of ivermectin and other unproven COVID-19 treatments.

Efforts to prove the effectiveness of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 have foundered. A large study involving more than 3,500 patients published in late March found ivermectin doesn’t reduce the risk of hospitalization.

That hasn’t stopped Steffen and others from continuing to pursue the unproven treatments. The Senate advanced House Bill 2280 on March 23 in a 21-16 vote, the minimum support needed for passage.

The measure would require a review of investigations conducted by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts into doctors who have prescribed drugs for off-label uses to treat COVID-19. Off-label prescriptions are common, but doctors are expected to follow the standard of care. Steffen has said he would not be impacted by the legislation.

The bill also contains sweeping exemptions from childhood vaccine requirements.

The legislation was sent to a conference committee, where House and Senate negotiators forge final agreements over bills. But on Friday, the day after the date on Steffen’s letter, House negotiators refused to consider the proposal. Eplee, who sits on the conference committee, said there was disagreement over language in the bill.

The Legislature has now adjourned for several weeks, leaving the bill’s fate undecided until at least late April.