Health News
Gov. Steve Beshear focused on health issues in remarks to a civic meeting Friday in Lexington. "We are leading this country in economic development, in education reform and in providing health care for our people," he said, noting the progress Kentucky is making in health and the direction it will go in the future.
"Kentucky is one of the least healthy states in the country," Beshear said. "I'm not proud of that." He said he knew something had to be done about it?then along came the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
"You can like it; you can not like it, but for the first time in our history . . . we've got a tool to provide affordable health care for every single Kentuckian," Beshear said. He acknowledged the system is imperfect, but said Kentucky is recognized nationally as the model for health-insurance exchanges.
Beshear reported that almost 200,000 of the 640,000 previously uninsured Kentuckians have signed up for health care through the exchange, branded as Kynect. Most are in Medicaid, the free program for the poor; Beshear expanded the program to include people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold.
The federal government will pay the cost of the expansion through 2016; the state will pay 3 percent in 2017, rising to the law's cap of 10 percent in 2020. A state-funded study said the expansion would create enough jobs to pay for itself, and Beshear said his emphasis on education and health would create jobs.
"A healthy workforce is the key to the future of the Commonwealth of Kentucky," because prospective employers are primarily concerned with whether an area has a healthy, trained educated workforce to help get the job done, the governor said. "The Affordable Care Act is giving us the opportunity to increase the healthiness of our workforce."
For a county-by-county list of Kynect signups for insurance and Medicaid, click here.
- Kentucky Had The Largest Decrease, From 2013 To 2014, In Percentage Of Residents Without Health Insurance
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky led the nation in the largest drop in the percentage of residents without health insurance from 2013 to 2014, according to a report released Sept. 16 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage of uninsured...
- Beshear, In D.c., Speaks Bluntly About State's Health Issues And 'rank Politics' That Keeps Some States From Expanding Medicaid
Beshear at the Brookings InsttitutionBy Al Cross Kentucky Health News An interesting thing sometimes happens to governors when they travel to Washington; they speak a little more freely than they do in their states, and that appeared to be the case when...
- Beshear And Two Other Democratic Governors Say Obamacare Is Working In Their States, And Cite Examples
Gov. Steve Beshear continues to be a major national cheerleader for the federal health-reform law, citing Kentucky examples in an op-ed piece he and the Democratic governors of Connecticut and Washington circulated to newspapers this week. "People keep...
- Beshear Looks Likely To Announce That He Will Expand Medicaid
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...
- Beshear Says He Will Decide In Four To Five Weeks, Or July 1 At The Latest, Whether Or Not To Expand Medicaid
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News This story has been updated. Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday that he will decide within the next four to five weeks, or maybe by July 1, whether to expand the Medicaid program under federal health-care reform. Beshear,...
Health News
Beshear says Obamacare will make Kentucky healthier, wealthier
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| Beshear speaks at the Good Morning Bluegrass event in Lexington. (Photo by Melissa Landon) |
"Kentucky is one of the least healthy states in the country," Beshear said. "I'm not proud of that." He said he knew something had to be done about it?then along came the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
"You can like it; you can not like it, but for the first time in our history . . . we've got a tool to provide affordable health care for every single Kentuckian," Beshear said. He acknowledged the system is imperfect, but said Kentucky is recognized nationally as the model for health-insurance exchanges.
Beshear reported that almost 200,000 of the 640,000 previously uninsured Kentuckians have signed up for health care through the exchange, branded as Kynect. Most are in Medicaid, the free program for the poor; Beshear expanded the program to include people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold.
The federal government will pay the cost of the expansion through 2016; the state will pay 3 percent in 2017, rising to the law's cap of 10 percent in 2020. A state-funded study said the expansion would create enough jobs to pay for itself, and Beshear said his emphasis on education and health would create jobs.
"A healthy workforce is the key to the future of the Commonwealth of Kentucky," because prospective employers are primarily concerned with whether an area has a healthy, trained educated workforce to help get the job done, the governor said. "The Affordable Care Act is giving us the opportunity to increase the healthiness of our workforce."
For a county-by-county list of Kynect signups for insurance and Medicaid, click here.
- Kentucky Had The Largest Decrease, From 2013 To 2014, In Percentage Of Residents Without Health Insurance
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky led the nation in the largest drop in the percentage of residents without health insurance from 2013 to 2014, according to a report released Sept. 16 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage of uninsured...
- Beshear, In D.c., Speaks Bluntly About State's Health Issues And 'rank Politics' That Keeps Some States From Expanding Medicaid
Beshear at the Brookings InsttitutionBy Al Cross Kentucky Health News An interesting thing sometimes happens to governors when they travel to Washington; they speak a little more freely than they do in their states, and that appeared to be the case when...
- Beshear And Two Other Democratic Governors Say Obamacare Is Working In Their States, And Cite Examples
Gov. Steve Beshear continues to be a major national cheerleader for the federal health-reform law, citing Kentucky examples in an op-ed piece he and the Democratic governors of Connecticut and Washington circulated to newspapers this week. "People keep...
- Beshear Looks Likely To Announce That He Will Expand Medicaid
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...
- Beshear Says He Will Decide In Four To Five Weeks, Or July 1 At The Latest, Whether Or Not To Expand Medicaid
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News This story has been updated. Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday that he will decide within the next four to five weeks, or maybe by July 1, whether to expand the Medicaid program under federal health-care reform. Beshear,...