Kansas law would let for-profit companies skim from veteran benefits
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What is House Bill 2214 and how does it aim to allow for‑profit veterans‑benefits consultants to operate in Kansas?
A bill that would let for-profit veterans benefits consultants keep operating in Kansas has cleared the House and is now moving through the Senate. This is House Bill 2214, and it's a pretty stark contrast to where the legislator was just two years ago. Back in 2024, a bill that would have banned these companies from charging veterans for claims assistance cleared a House Committee, but it was never heard by the House. That 2024 bill was requested for introduction by Jim Carlskin, a former Republican state representative from Tonganoxi, who says it would have aligned Candace with federal law that says veterans can't be charged for initial claims assistance. Jim was in the House from 2017 to 2021, but he's still a familiar face with the State House.
He lobbies for educational groups and for the veterans of foreign wars or the VFW. Jim fought in the Vietnam War and has navigated the VA. And he helps other veterans do the same for free. Jim is not a fan of House Bill 2214. He testified against it before the House Veterans and Military Committee and tried to testify against it last Thursday before the Senate Select Committee on Veterans Affairs, but wasn't able to. Proponents were cut off early. He's here to tell us about what he would have said, why he thinks his 2024 bill stalled, and more on for-profit claims consultants. So hi Jim, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you. It's good to be here.
Yeah, thank you for being here. So we are recording this on Thursday, March fifth, which is just a few hours after the Senate Select Committee on Veterans Affairs heard testimony over the bill, but they caught off opponents before they could finish. You were going to testify, but you didn't get the chance to. What were you going to say?
Well, basically the opponents learned some things when they had the house hearing. We thought we were taken advantage of and uh so we became more organized this time and decided to stress talking points and kind of divided it up with the people we had organized, you know, as opponents. Um and unfortunately the the the the uh hearing went excessively long. You know, it we we knew we were under the gun to start with, but the but the proponents took a lot of time and the the opponents that were able to speak, they they consume time as well. And usually In situations like this, most times the committee chair limits each each presenter to a to a time limit. There were no time limits today. And uh it I I think it hurt what we wanted to accomplish in sharing with the committee our point of view.
And what would you have shared with them if you'd been given the time?
Well I I th th the the biggest thing, um two or three points that I was going to bring out. And one of them the uh National Association of Attorney Generals had have uh forty four of the state attorney generals, to include Chris Kobach, wrote a letter to the Congress and it there's a there was a bill, it's called G U A R D BA Benefits Act. And I'll read it to you. It's governing unaccredited representatives defrauding BA Benefits Act. And they call it Guard Act. And I that was not brought out to in in testimony today. As I said, forty-four attorney generals signed on to it, encouraging them to act on this bill, which would control and take a significant step forward in controlling these unauthorized bodies or groups that um that do claims.
Would it full on ban the for profit claims consultants like some other states have done or would it be closer to what Candace so it would full on ban. Okay. So would it be like this Candace bill?
It would follow The federal law right now. It is there is a federal law that says that on the first time applying for the claim. You are not to be uh a v a veteran is not to be charged.
Yes.
And that's where the The proponents of this bill They tried to show that they were doing Kansas a favor by putting some guardrails on.
Mm-hmm.
Why did Jim Karleskint oppose the bill and what points did he plan to make in his testimony?
Well Part of this wheel could put some guardrails on, but the main thing is that it it opens it up so much. for taking advantage still of veterans by taking money from them, which they don't need to and and and
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is House Bill 2214 and how does it aim to allow for‑profit veterans‑benefits consultants to operate in Kansas?
0:00–4:06
2
Why did Jim Karleskint oppose the bill and what points did he plan to make in his testimony?
4:06–7:50
3
How have for‑profit claim consultants changed since the PACT Act and what money can they make from veterans?
7:50–10:36
4
How do claim‑shark advertisements on social media target Vietnam veterans?
10:36–13:54
5
What legal actions (cease‑and‑desist letters, lawsuits) have been taken against unaccredited claim consultants?
13:54–17:34
6
How does Kansas’s proposed law compare to the similar Louisiana bill that was struck down?
17:34–20:01
7
What role did lobbying and political maneuvering play in advancing the bill through the Kansas House?
20:01–23:08
8
If the bill passes, what is Jim Karleskint’s plan to protect veterans and challenge the legislation?
23:08–25:55
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