Health News
Most Kentuckians still oppose the federal health-reform law, but think it should be changed rather than repealed, and most think the state health-insurance exchange created under the law is working well. So says a poll taken for The New York Times and the Kaiser Family Foundation in four Southern states with key U.S. Senate races this year: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina.
"Debate over the law is expected to dominate the midterm elections. Attacks on the law are featuring prominently in campaigns across the country, and Republican lawmakers have continued to push for the law?s replacement," Sabrina Tavernise and Allison Kopicki write. "Questions about it may evoke associations with an unpopular president, the remoteness of Washington from ordinary Americans and extra costs in family budgets. But majorities say they do not want it taken away, even in states that lean Republican in presidential elections."
Among the four states, Kentucky is the only one that is running its own exchange, and the only one in which a majority said it is working well. In Arkansas, which has a combined state-federal exchange, a plurality said it was working well. The other two states use the federal exchange, which had a troubled rollout.
Kentucky is the only Southern state that created its own exchange and expanded Medicaid to include people in households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The poll found support for Medicaid expansion in all four states, and 55 percent in Kentucky gave Gov. Steve Beshear, who made both decisions, a positive job rating.
The poll, done with landline and cellphone interviews April 8-15, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points in each state. (Read more)
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Health News
Poll: Kentuckians still oppose Obamacare, but favor fixes, not repeal, and think state insurance exchange works well
"Debate over the law is expected to dominate the midterm elections. Attacks on the law are featuring prominently in campaigns across the country, and Republican lawmakers have continued to push for the law?s replacement," Sabrina Tavernise and Allison Kopicki write. "Questions about it may evoke associations with an unpopular president, the remoteness of Washington from ordinary Americans and extra costs in family budgets. But majorities say they do not want it taken away, even in states that lean Republican in presidential elections."
Kentucky is the only Southern state that created its own exchange and expanded Medicaid to include people in households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The poll found support for Medicaid expansion in all four states, and 55 percent in Kentucky gave Gov. Steve Beshear, who made both decisions, a positive job rating.
The poll, done with landline and cellphone interviews April 8-15, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points in each state. (Read more)
- Economic Upturn Boosts Share Of Kentuckians On Employer-based Health Coverage; Health Reform Boosts Number On Public Plans
Half of Kentucky's working-age adults now get health insurance through their employers, up from 37 percent two years ago, reversing a downward trend that began with the Great Recession. Meanwhile, under federal health reform, many more Kentuckians...
- Kentuckians With Health Insurance Are More Likely To Have Heard About Kynect Than Those Without Insurance, Poll Finds
The 10 percent of Kentuckians who remain without health insurance are less likely to have heard much about Kynect, the state health-insurance exchange created under the federal health-reform law, than those who have insurance. But overall, the uninsured...
- Poll: Kynect Considered A Success, But Voters Haven't Embraced It, And They Still Disapprove Of The Affordable Care Act
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News A new poll again indicates that Kentuckians marginally approve of the state health-insurance exchange created under the federal health-reform law, but clearly disapprove of the law itself. The poll, taken Aug. 7-10, surveyed...
- Ky. Neck-and-neck With Ark. For Largest Drop In Percentage Of Uninsured; Kynect And Medicaid Expansion Make The Difference
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky is finally near the top of a good list about health. It's neck-and-neck with Arkansas for the greatest drop in the percentage of uninsured adults since the federal health-care reform law's requirement...
- Poll Finds That 79 Percent Of Kentuckians, Including 60 Percent Of Republicans, Support Beshear's Expansion Of Medicaid
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentuckians strongly support Gov. Steve Beshear's decision to make hundreds of thousands more of them eligible for Medicaid under the federal health-reform law, according to a statewide poll taken...