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Bevin Notifies Federal Government He'll Dismantle Kynect

J. Tyler Franklin

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has notified the federal government that Kentucky will dismantle its state health insurance exchange, Kynect.

The move will direct Kentuckians seeking health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to use the federal health insurance site, healthcare.gov.

More than 500,000 people have gotten health insurance through Kynect.

In a statement from the governor’s office, Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto called the program a “redundancy.”

“The transition will have no impact on Kentuckians’ ability to obtain or continue health care coverage for the 2016 plan year," Ditto said.

Under the state-managed exchange, Kentucky charges a 1 percent assessment on all insurance premiums to fund the program. Once Kynect is eliminated, the 1 percent charge will be eliminated, but plans acquired through the federal exchange will be charged a 3.5 percent assessment.

Since 2014, health care coverage has been required in the U.S. Kentucky is one of 17 states that has a state-based health insurance exchange.

The end of Kynect is paired with the governor's intention to reform the state's approach to Medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income residents. Bevin, a Republican, promised to take both actions during and soon after last year's gubernatorial campaign.

Late last year, Bevin announced that he would by 2017 “transform” the state’s expanded Medicaid system into a model similar to Indiana’s — which still provides health insurance for those whose household income is up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. More than 400,000 Kentuckians have gotten health insurance through the expanded Medicaid program.

Under Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, Kynect also included a marketing campaign and funded workers to aid people in signing up for benefits. Bevin, a Republican who took office last month, has already ended marketing for Kynect.

According to a Gallup poll, Kentucky’s uninsured rate dropped from 20.4 percent to 9 percent during the first two years of implementation.

Jason Bailey, executive director of the think tank Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, called the repeal of Kynect a “big step backward.”

“We should be building on things like Kynect that are working so we can create a stronger Kentucky, not taking them apart,” Bailey said.

Beshear's administration has said it will cost at least $23 million to dismantle the system.