medicaid

Kentucky To Expand Medicaid Drug Treatment Program In July

By Ryland Barton • 1 hour ago

Even though most of Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed changes to Kentucky’s Medicaid system are still locked in a court battle, treatment for drug addiction will be expanded under the program starting July 1.

Medicaid Court Ruling Worries Some Kentuckians About Bevin Rollback

By Lisa Gillespie (KPR) • Mar 28, 2019

Kentucky’s plan to require some Medicaid enrollees to work won’t roll out next month as planned. Wednesday a federal judge blocked its implementation. This was the second time Governor Matt Bevin and the federal government defended the changes to the insurance program for people with low-incomes.

Federal Judge Blocks Medicaid Work Rules In Blow To Trump

By Lisa Gillespie (KPR) • Mar 27, 2019

A federal judge has again struck down Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin’s changes to the Medicaid program, including community engagement requirements that would have made some people work to keep coverage.

The Medicaid changes were set to partially go into effect April 1. Wednesday’s decision is the second time U.S. District Judge James Boasberg struck down Kentucky’s proposal – the first was in June 2018.

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State Defends Passport Reimbursement Rates Amid Calls For Fix

By Lisa Gillespie (KPR) • Mar 4, 2019

State officials say Passport Health Plan’s calls for a change to its Medicaid reimbursement rates are futile.

Kentucky Bill To Remove Prior Authorization Aims To Help Opioid Users Get Treatment

By Lisa Gillespie • Feb 20, 2019

It was a Friday afternoon, and a young man — the doctor called him “J” — needed help. J was addicted to heroin. The doctor, Mike Kalfas, had treated him several times before with buprenorphine, a drug that blocks opioid cravings and is part of a class of drugs most successful in keeping patients in recovery.

J had recently gotten out of jail on a drug-related charge, Kalfas said. There, he’d had to stop using buprenorphine because it wasn’t available.

“I wrote him the prescription, and it’s 5:30 p.m. on a Friday when he left my office,” Kalfas told Kentucky lawmakers earlier this month. “About 6:30 p.m. the paper comes over the fax machine, denying his medication.”

Kentucky Delays Start Time For Some New Medicaid Rules

By Associated Press • Feb 1, 2019

State officials in Kentucky have delayed the start of some new eligibility rules for a portion of its Medicaid population.

Kentucky is one of 36 states to expand its Medicaid program under former President Barack Obama's health care law to cover more people. President Donald Trump's administration gave Kentucky permission to require those people to do things like get a job, go to school or do community service work to maintain their coverage. The Bevin administration calls these rules the "community engagement" requirements.