Gov. Beshear ends Medicaid waiver requiring recipients to work

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) — Governor Andy Beshear has ended the battle over a controversial medicaid requirement put into place by former Governor Matt Bevin.

Beshear says if he didn’t do it nearly 100,000 Kentuckians could have lost their health care coverage.

Governor Beshear made this promise early on. During his campaign he told Kentuckians he would end the Medicaid waiver, requiring people to work to keep their health insurance coverage.

When former Governor Bevin took office he issued an executive order to end the Kentucky Medicaid expansion program if the waiver, known as Kentucky HEALTH, wasn’t put into place.

The waiver would have required those who are able to to work or volunteer 20 hours a week in order to receive Medicaid coverage.

Beshear says this waiver would’ve done more harm than good.

It never went into effect. The waiver’s been caught up in the courts because of lawsuits filed against it.

Beshear says evidence shows most of those losing Medicaid across the country due to the work requirements are already working in jobs, many that don’t offer health benefits.

“The answer to getting people ultimately off of expanding Medicaid is to increase wages. It’s to make sure there are those opportunities for folks who are already working to earn more and ultimately support their family. And this administration is going to be laser-focused on wages,” says Governor Andy Beshear.

In addition to ending the Medicaid waiver, Beshear signed an executive order protecting the state’s Medicaid expansion program that insures almost 500,000 people.