Since taking office in late 2015, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has been on a mission to roll back the state’s Medicaid expansion. And honestly, that shouldn’t surprise many people. Bevin campaigned on the issue. He said making changes to the system — including charging some Medicaid recipients monthly premiums and requiring them to work or volunteer to maintain coverage — would give them “dignity and respect.”
The Trump administration in January approved Bevin’s proposed changes, making Kentucky the first state to get the go-ahead to institute a work requirement for Medicaid recipients.
But not long after Bevin won approval, a group of 16 Kentuckians filed a lawsuit arguing the Medicaid changes were illegal. On June 29, a federal judge ruled in favor of the group and overturned Bevin’s Medicaid changes. Following the ruling, Bevin took away dental and vision coverage from all Medicaid expansion recipients, about 460,000 people.
That brings us to present time. So, where do we go from here? Kentucky Public Radio Capitol Reporter Ryland Barton breaks it down today on Recut.