Reversal: Kentucky restoring Medicaid benefits for thousands

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration says it’s reinstating dental and vision care for hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients who had their benefits cut recently amid an outcry.

The benefits were abruptly cut after a federal judge rejected the Republican governor’s plan to overhaul Kentucky’s Medicaid program. The cuts had triggered stinging criticism from Democrats and public health advocates.

The reversal was announced late Thursday by the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It says dental and vision coverage are being restored to “mitigate the consequences” of the ruling.

The ruling marked a setback for President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been encouraging states to impose work requirements and other changes on the state and federal health insurance program for poor and disabled people.

The ruling blocks those requirements for now in Kentucky.

The following statement from House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins is in response to the Bevin Administration’s decision to restore dental and vision benefits for those in the Medicaid expansion population:

“The members of the House Democratic Caucus and I are happy to learn that it appears Governor Bevin and his administration are planning to restore dental and vision benefits for 460,000 people on Medicaid. Our caucus stood loud and firm on this issue, because the decision early this month to take away those services with no advance warning created an immediate hardship for those directly affected and caused needless headaches for numerous healthcare providers. The governor and his administration were wrong to blame this cruel action on the federal court ruling that blocked this waiver, but I’m glad they appear to be back on the right track. I’m hopeful that our citizens will not be faced with the devastation of losing these benefits again.” – House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins