Kentucky Is a Test Case for Republicans

One of the items that Kentucky voters determined was not as important to them as installing a Republican governor was the state’s successful, full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Aside from the recent collapse of a state health insurance co-op, Kentucky’s relatively glitch-free state-run insurance exchange, Kynect, and acceptance of the law’s Medicaid expansion have been widely recognized successes. The state’s uninsured population dropped 40 percent between 2013 and 2014, according to Census figures released this fall, and the number has continued to plummet. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Families estimates that by now roughly 400,000 Kentuckians have taken advantage of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, while another 100,000 have signed up for private insurance through Kynect.