As lawmakers in Frankfort try again to find agreement on how to balance the Medicaid budget, Governor Steve Beshear wrapped up a two-day flyaround of the state to rally support for his plan to close the shortfall. Beshear says he can balance the budget by moving funds around and changing the way Medicaid services are delivered. Republicans who control the state Senate are calling for across-the-board cuts to education and other programs to get Medicaid out of the red.During a stop in Louisville Tuesday, Beshear said Republicans have had plenty of time to find some middle ground on the issue.I’ll tell you what, I put a proposal out here to balance this budget in November. They’ve had it for three and a half months. They get in there in the Senate and dillydally around; the House did their work and three days before the end of the session, they come out with this preposterous proposal to balance Medicaid on the backs of schoolchildren. That’s not going to fly," he said.Beshear dismisses the notion that this has become an election year political issue between him and Senate President David Williams, who wants to unseat the governor.A special session called by Beshear on the issue began Monday.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
