4 things to know about Medicaid’s uncertain future in rural Kentucky

In 2014, Kentucky expanded Medicaid under the ACA, extending eligibility to adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty line. Now, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R), who was elected in 2015, has proposed to revamp the state’s Medicaid program, according to a Kaiser Health News report.

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Here are four things to know.

1. Gov. Bevin has submitted a proposal to revamp the state’s Medicaid program to President Barack Obama’s administration.

2. In the proposal, Gov. Bevin argued Kentucky’s Medicaid program was not financially sustainable as it exists. Medicaid expansion states will pick up 5 percent of the cost of the Medicaid expansion next year and that will rise gradually to 10 percent by 2020, according to the report.

3. The governor has threatened to roll back Medicaid expansion if federal officials don’t allow him to make major changes, which would require beneficiaries to pay monthly premiums of $1 to $37.50, according to the report. The changes would also require non-disabled recipients to work or do community service for free dental and vision care.

4. A great number of experts expect federal officials to reject Gov. Bevin’s plan before the end of 2016 because it would roll back gains in expected insurance coverage, according to the report. However, the report notes, the governor’s proposed changes might be more feasible next year in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to repeal the ACA.

For more on this story, read Phil Galewitz’s full report in Kaiser Health News.

 

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