Kentucky HEALTH

Frankfort, KY – The InsureKY campaign and our partners commend Governor Beshear for taking swift action to withdraw the 1115 Medicaid Waiver known as Kentucky HEALTH. The waiver would have created numerous barriers for low-income families and underpaid workers of all ages, races and areas of the state who rely on Medicaid for affordable, quality healthcare, but a federal court blocked its implementation, finding that the federal government failed to adequately examine its effect on Medicaid coverage. Governor Beshear’s decision to reverse course on the Bevin administration’s Kentucky HEALTH waiver comes nearly two years after it was first approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The waiver, with its work requirements, high premiums, lock out periods and complicated paperwork, has been the subject of a federal lawsuit brought by sixteen Kentuckians who would have been directly affected by a number of policies largely considered to be illegal in the Medicaid program. Had the waiver been implemented, it