The possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act would jeopardize critical services for thousands of Kentuckians who are battling substance abuse.
A new study from Harvard Medical School and New York University says a repeal of the federal health care law would threaten 44 percent of the funds Kentucky uses to treat opioid addicts and the mentally ill.
Congressional Republicans have made the repeal and replacement of the ACA their top legislative priority.
Harvard Health Economics Professor Richard Frank said Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion under the ACA has helped many addicts get help they otherwise wouldn’t have received.
“If that goes away, not only do you go back to the set of tools that you had prior to 2014, but in fact you’re using them to fight a much bigger problem that is continuing to grow,” Frank said.
The study says more than 61,000 Kentuckians would lose critical substance abuse services if the ACA is repealed.
President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans haven’t released their health care plan to replace the ACA.
