Sunflower Foundation: Health Care for Kansans was created in 2000 as part of a $75 million settlement between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, then-Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall, and then-Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius.

The agreement creating the foundation resolved disputes between the parties concerning Blue Cross’ charitable assets from company operations spanning from 1941 to 1969. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that is classified as a public charity. Based in Topeka, it is a statewide public foundation and grantmaking organization.

The settlement charged the Sunflower Foundation with serving the health needs of Kansans with an emphasis on programs that:

1. Serve the poor, the uninsured and underinsured;
2. Promote preventive health care; and
3. Support activities aimed at encouraging healthy lifestyles, such as reducing the number of Kansans who use tobacco products.

→ Learn about why "Sunflower" was chosen for our name here.