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Kentucky DisKynect
Author: Raine    Date: 11/05/2015 14:41:18

On election day, the people of Kentucky voted to elect Republican Matt Bevin as its next governor.

They also chose to re-elect Alison Lundergan Grimes as Secretary of State. For Attorney General Kentucky elected Democrat Andy Beshear . Mr. Beshear happens to be the son of outgoing Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.

The incoming Governor campaigned to attract social conservatives in his state --- also known as the Kim Davis demographic.
The preliminary steps from the eight-year leadership of moderate Democrat Steve Beshear to Tea Party conservative Matt Bevin began behind the scenes and in a cooperative spirit.

But emotions are stirring about a candidate elected with a mandate Tuesday who has promised to cut the size of government, rework public pensions, initiate charter schools, adopt a so-called right-to-work law, blasted Obamacare and embraced the cause of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis.

It seems pretty bad for the people of Kentucky, but it is important to keep in mind how important it was to elect a Democratic Attorney General in light of the radical changes that the incoming governor wants to make with regard to the expansion of medicaid and the state exchange -- known as the gold standard by many regarding the ACA. The new Governor defeated the state's CURRENT Attorney General, who said in September that he would continue Kentucky Kynect and the Medicaid expansion.

So what will incoming Governor Bevin do? It is hard to to tell to be honest.
But the biggest question to me will be how he chooses to address health care here. Bevin was adamant in February that he wanted to reverse Gov. Steve Beshear's (D) executive order that expanded Medicaid to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

With more than 400,000 Kentuckians having signed up, that position was untenable in the general election, and Bevin repeatedly tried to walk it back.

He never hedged, however, on his pledge to shutdown Kynect, the state's health care exchange, and transfer those who signed up to the federal exchange.

After two years of being hailed as the nation's gold standard for "Obamacare" implementation, we might be about to find out how it looks when a state goes 180-degrees in the other direction.
He is going to try to get rid of it, but as this piece from TPM states, it is not going to be that easy.
Top health policy experts contacted by TPM the day after Bevin's victory weren't panicking or predicting a dramatic rollback of Obamacare in Kentucky. They were generally concerned about mischief Bevin could make at the margins, because any additional hassle faced by insurance customers can dampen participation. But experts watching closely said they were skeptical Bevin would be able to deliver a grave setback to the progress the state has made through its Obamacare programs.

“It is nearly politically impossible to take benefits from people -- even for Republicans,” Caroline Pearson, vice president of Avalere Health, an independent consulting firm and a top expert on health policy, told TPM. “I think that’s not likely to happen, even though that might sell well on the campaign trail.”
(snip)
“To the extent that he wanted to disrupt things for people, that would be an option,” Rosenbaum said. The turbulence the transition would cause should not be understated, as users would have to learn a new system. But states are required to give the federal government a year’s notice before eliminating their own exchange, giving the feds time to smooth out the process.

“There’s no reason in terms eligibility why anybody should lose coverage, so the question would be, would they lose coverage because of some bureaucratic screw up in the transfer process,” said Timothy Jost, a health law specialist at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. “If they give a year’s notice, I think it should be feasible to make the transition and there shouldn’t be too much chaos.”

Bevin’s intentions for the Medicaid expansion are much murkier. He could roll it back entirely, as he at first suggested he would do. But in more recent interviews -- perhaps due to political blowback -- he has said he would alter the expansion instead.
He may want to rabble rouse, but with a Democratic Attorney General, son of the man behind creating the Gold Standard for the ACA, there will be pushback. I don't believe that state will be able to do much if anything regarding Obamare and medicaid expansion.

“Obamacare is here to stay,” Pearson said. “At this point it’s going to be about how you deliver that coverage more efficiently and sort of modifying the flavor a bit, but none of it’s going to disappear.”

The devil as always will be in the details, if the governor-elect gets his way and implements so-called right to work laws as he also campaigned on, you can bet that the importance of keeping Kentucky Kynect really is. Numbers don't lie.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CS2jug7UYAAnsAy.jpg


His desire to break unions in the state are far more egregious than his bloviating about dismantling ObamaCare.

and

Raine
 

26 comments (Latest Comment: 11/05/2015 21:48:41 by Raine)
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Comment by trojanrabbit on 11/05/2015 14:16:47
Good morning

It's OK everyone, the paid liar representing the TacoHell exec who beat up an Uber driver says he's so sorry.

Is this the same marketing weenie who thought it would be a good thing to give everyone free diarrhea this morning?

Comment by velveeta jones on 11/05/2015 14:20:11
No hat? New haircut? Makeup, eyebrows done....? What happened to steph????

Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2015 14:24:03
Morning

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 14:42:34
BLOG POSTED!!!


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 14:42:59
Quote by velveeta jones:
No hat? New haircut? Makeup, eyebrows done....? What happened to steph????
She has a hillary thing later in the morning!


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 14:46:41
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Good morning

It's OK everyone, the paid liar representing the TacoHell exec who beat up an Uber driver says he's so sorry.

Is this the same marketing weenie who thought it would be a good thing to give everyone free diarrhea this morning?



Comment by Mondobubba on 11/05/2015 14:57:19
Morning all.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2015 15:10:04
Mornin' all.

http://bucket.bluegartr.com/8cffda8fccc517cd12e3687776f344f4.jpg


Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 15:39:55
in the meantime:



Comment by wickedpam on 11/05/2015 15:49:07
Quote by Raine:
in the meantime:




IOW: "He'll veto our mean-spirited bill so we're taking our ball and going home until after the election and we have someone stupid in the office (cause we know we've dumbed you down so much you'll vote for carnival barkers) who will sign anything we tell them to."

Comment by Mondobubba on 11/05/2015 15:59:34
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all.

http://bucket.bluegartr.com/8cffda8fccc517cd12e3687776f344f4.jpg





Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 17:34:12
Dear anonymous…. you are not anonymous when you are out in public…..





Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2015 17:36:42
So, the cop in IL that killed himself also ran an Explorer Post (BSA), and was embezzling money from them. The obvious and immediate solution would be to ban cops from Scouting so they don't have access to young boys.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 18:09:59
Looks like the second most unwanted Job in DC is finally being filled. After about 2 years we finally have a general manager to run WMATA.



Comment by TriSec on 11/05/2015 18:35:42
Quote by Raine:
Looks like the second most unwanted Job in DC is finally being filled. After about 2 years we finally have a general manager to run WMATA.



Who'd you get? Hopeflly not that MARTA disaster that cratered the MBTA last winter...

Comment by Mondobubba on 11/05/2015 18:42:18
Quote by Raine:
Dear anonymous…. you are not anonymous when you are out in public…..






Phew! I can smell that patchouli oil reek here. : )

Comment by livingonli on 11/05/2015 19:22:18
And how many of them would only know about the masks from the V for Vendetta movie (since they probably didn't read the original Alan Moore graphic novel)

Comment by BobR on 11/05/2015 19:30:27
Quote by livingonli:
And how many of them would only know about the masks from the V for Vendetta movie (since they probably didn't read the original Alan Moore graphic novel)

or - you know - actual history. Guy Fawkes was trying to murder a king because he was protestant.

Comment by livingonli on 11/05/2015 19:44:39
Quote by BobR:
Quote by livingonli:
And how many of them would only know about the masks from the V for Vendetta movie (since they probably didn't read the original Alan Moore graphic novel)

or - you know - actual history. Guy Fawkes was trying to murder a king because he was protestant.

True. I believe V for Vendetta is what termed him into the anarchist model. But, I guess Guy Fawkes was probably more a prediction of what would happen under Cromwell's brief reign.

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 19:56:20
Quote by TriSec:
Quote by Raine:
Looks like the second most unwanted Job in DC is finally being filled. After about 2 years we finally have a general manager to run WMATA.



Who'd you get? Hopeflly not that MARTA disaster that cratered the MBTA last winter...

WE actually got the guy who Ran BWI and Maryland MAss trasit — he was fired when the Repub Governor took office last year.

He was an O'MAlley appointee and from everything I have learned, he was pretty good at his job. And lord knows WMATA needs it desperately, it has become a clusterfuck the past few years.

Comment by Scoopster on 11/05/2015 21:03:48
Comment by BobR on 11/05/2015 21:05:09
Quote by Scoopster:
Mmm xenomorphic donut....

Just as long as it doesn't burst out of my stomach after a few hours

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 21:05:36
Quote by Scoopster:
Mmm xenomorphic donut....

That's crazy!

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 21:05:59
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mmm xenomorphic donut....

Just as long as it doesn't burst out of my stomach after a few hours

You and me both, Love…

Comment by Mondobubba on 11/05/2015 21:25:25
Quote by Scoopster:
Mmm xenomorphic donut....



Yes! I need one on my face!

Comment by Raine on 11/05/2015 21:48:41