Health News
Gov. Steve Beshear appears likely to announce tomorrow that he will expand Kentucky's Medicaid program to people in households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, under federal health-care reform.
The notice of the governor's news conference about "Decision regarding Medicaid expansion" says it will be held in the ornate State Reception Room on the second floor of the state Capitol, an unlikely venue for an announcement that would disappoint so many of his natural allies in the Democratic Party. And Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, reiterated his February prediction that Beshear would expand Medicaid, cn|2 reports.
Under health reform, the federal government would pay all the cost of the estimated 400,000 newly eligible Kentuckians in Medicaid in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The state would pay 3 percent of the added cost in 2017, rising to 10 percent in 2020. Beshear has said the state should expand Medicaid if it can afford it.
Some Republicans have said the state can't afford it, but national research has estimated that the state's cost for Medicaid would increase only 5 to 6 percent over the amount it would pay if the program were not expanded. The federal government now pays more than 70 percent of the program's cost in Kentucky.
More background on Mediaid in Kentucky is available from a PowerPoint presentation that Deputy Medicaid Commissioner Lisa Lee gave yesterday at a meeting sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Kentucky Rural Health Association. It can be downloaded here.
- Beshear Writes Reply To A Virginia Newspaper, Pushing Medicaid Expansion Like He Implemented In Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, trying to help a fellow Democratic governor who is trying to expand Medicaid, has written a response to an editorial in which a Virginia largest state-capital newspaper opposed the move. "Our success undercuts your whole...
- State Won't Estimate Cost Of Greater-than-expected Medicaid Expansion For 'a Few Additional Months' ? After Nov. Election
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The Republican-controlled state Senate's budget committee chair wants to know how much Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear's expansion of the Medicaid program will cost, since enrollment in the federal-state program...
- Beshear Will Expand Medicaid, Democrat And Republican Say; D Says Governor Believes The State Can Opt Out If It's Not Affordable
State legislators in both parties say they expect Gov. Steve Beshear to expand Medicaid to cover several hundred thousand more Kentuckians who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty rate. Rep. Tom Burch, chairman of the House Health and Welfare...
- Beshear Says He Will Expand Medicaid If State Can Afford It, Says 'if We've Got A Healthier Kentucky, We're All Better Off'
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Gov. Steve Beshear said today that he would expand Kentucky's Medicaid program under the federal health-reform law if the state can afford the cost. "If there is a way that we can afford that will get more coverage...
- Experts Disagree On Whether States Will Choose To Expand Medicaid
Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor...
Health News
Beshear looks likely to announce that he will expand Medicaid
The notice of the governor's news conference about "Decision regarding Medicaid expansion" says it will be held in the ornate State Reception Room on the second floor of the state Capitol, an unlikely venue for an announcement that would disappoint so many of his natural allies in the Democratic Party. And Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, reiterated his February prediction that Beshear would expand Medicaid, cn|2 reports.
Under health reform, the federal government would pay all the cost of the estimated 400,000 newly eligible Kentuckians in Medicaid in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The state would pay 3 percent of the added cost in 2017, rising to 10 percent in 2020. Beshear has said the state should expand Medicaid if it can afford it.
Some Republicans have said the state can't afford it, but national research has estimated that the state's cost for Medicaid would increase only 5 to 6 percent over the amount it would pay if the program were not expanded. The federal government now pays more than 70 percent of the program's cost in Kentucky.
More background on Mediaid in Kentucky is available from a PowerPoint presentation that Deputy Medicaid Commissioner Lisa Lee gave yesterday at a meeting sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Kentucky Rural Health Association. It can be downloaded here.
- Beshear Writes Reply To A Virginia Newspaper, Pushing Medicaid Expansion Like He Implemented In Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, trying to help a fellow Democratic governor who is trying to expand Medicaid, has written a response to an editorial in which a Virginia largest state-capital newspaper opposed the move. "Our success undercuts your whole...
- State Won't Estimate Cost Of Greater-than-expected Medicaid Expansion For 'a Few Additional Months' ? After Nov. Election
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The Republican-controlled state Senate's budget committee chair wants to know how much Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear's expansion of the Medicaid program will cost, since enrollment in the federal-state program...
- Beshear Will Expand Medicaid, Democrat And Republican Say; D Says Governor Believes The State Can Opt Out If It's Not Affordable
State legislators in both parties say they expect Gov. Steve Beshear to expand Medicaid to cover several hundred thousand more Kentuckians who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty rate. Rep. Tom Burch, chairman of the House Health and Welfare...
- Beshear Says He Will Expand Medicaid If State Can Afford It, Says 'if We've Got A Healthier Kentucky, We're All Better Off'
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Gov. Steve Beshear said today that he would expand Kentucky's Medicaid program under the federal health-reform law if the state can afford the cost. "If there is a way that we can afford that will get more coverage...
- Experts Disagree On Whether States Will Choose To Expand Medicaid
Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor...