Today Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration will hold the second of two opportunities for the public to weigh in on the governor’s new proposal to change the state’s Medicaid system. The changes would trim almost 100,000 people from the state’s Medicaid rolls.
Bevin asked the federal government last year for permission to require able-bodied Medicaid beneficiaries to pay monthly premiums ranging between $1 and $15 for their health benefits.
The Bevin administration held a public comment session in Somerset on Friday, drawing mostly criticism, but also some praise from an audience that traveled from around the state.
Lexington attorney Andrea Welker said Bevin’s proposed changes would create more red tape for poor people to access healthcare.
“Nothing in the body of evidence that I have seen suggests that anything that we’re doing is going to lead to improved health outcomes for Kentuckians,” Welker said.
The governor’s office argues that the changes are necessary to save the state money on Medicaid, which provides health coverage to about a quarter of the state’s population of 4.4 million.
Monday’s hearing will be held in the annex of the State Capitol at 10:00 a.m.
