NEWS RELEASES
And the 2014 Kentucky Health Issues Poll – which reaches adults throughout the commonwealth – affirms this view is broadly held. When asked specifically about the recently adopted USDA school nutrition standards, more than three-quarters of adults (78%) favored the new USDA standards for meals served to students.
In Kentucky, the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health showed that in 2011-2012, 35.7% of Kentucky children were considered overweight or obese.
We add our voice to this call.
Fourth Anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, March 23, 2014
Act into law, the share of Americans with insurance is up, and the growth of
health care costs is down, to its slowest rate in fifty years – two of the most
promising developments for our middle class and our fiscal future in a long
time.
gained new benefits and protections – the 100 million Americans who’ve gained
the right to free preventive care like mammograms and contraception, the eight
million seniors who’ve saved thousands of dollars on their prescription drugs,
and the untold number of families who won’t be driven into bankruptcy by
out-of-pocket costs, because this law prevents insurers from placing dollar
limits on the care you can receive.
gained coverage. Over the past four years, over three million young
Americans have been able to stay on their family plans. And over the past
five and a half months alone, more than five million Americans have signed up
to buy private health insurance plans on HealthCare.gov – plans that can no
longer discriminate against preexisting conditions or charge you more just
because you’re a woman or a cancer survivor – and millions more have enrolled
in Medicaid.
the stories behind each one of them, that will ultimately determine the fate of
this law. It is the measurable outcomes – in savings for families and
businesses, healthier kids with better performance in schools, seniors with
more money to spend because they’re paying less for their medicine, and young
entrepreneurs who’ll have the freedom to try new jobs or chase that new idea –
that will ultimately offer more security and peace of mind to more Americans
who work hard to get ahead.
first wellness visit under her new insurance plan, a woman from Colorado shared
with me what that peace of mind meant to her. “After using my new insurance for
the first time, you probably heard my sigh of relief from the White House,” she
wrote. “I felt like a human being again. I felt that I had value.”
anyone, out of some outdated obsession, pledges to repeal or undermine the
Affordable Care Act. And that’s why my administration will spend the
fifth year of this law and beyond working to implement and improve on it.
get covered – or if you know someone who should – it’s now last call for
2014. March 31st is the deadline to get covered this
year. So check out HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 to see what new
choices are available to you, and get covered today.
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Office of the Governor
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact:
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Kerri Richardson
Terry Sebastian
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1. Baptist Hospital East
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2. Baptist Hospital Northeast
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3. Baptist Regional Medical Center
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4. Breckinridge Memorial Hospital
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5. Caldwell Medical Center
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6. Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital
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7. Carroll County Memorial Hospital
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8. Casey County Hospital
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9. Caverna Memorial Hospital
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10. Central Baptist Hospital
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11. Clinton County Hospital
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12. Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital
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13. Continuing Care Hospital
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14. Crittenden County Hospital
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15. Cumberland County Hospital
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16. Cumberland Hall Behavioral Health Services
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17. Flaget Memorial Hospital
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18. Fleming County Hospital
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19. Frankfort Regional Medical Center
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20. Frazier Rehab Institute
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21. Gateway Rehabilitation Hospital
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22. Greenview Regional Hospital
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23. Hardin Memorial Hospital
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24. Harlan ARH Hospital
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25. Harrison Memorial Hospital
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26. Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center
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27. HealthSouth Lakeview Rehabilitation Hospital
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28. HealthSouth Northern Kentucky Rehabilitation Hospital
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29. Highlands Regional Medical Center
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30. Jane Todd Crawford Hospital
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31. Jennie Stuart Medical Center
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32. Jewish Hospital
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33. Jewish Hospital-Shelbyville
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34. Kentucky River Medical Center
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35. Kindred Hospital-Louisville
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36. King’s Daughters Medical Center
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37. Knox County Hospital
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38. Kosair Children’s Hospital
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39. Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health System
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40. Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services
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41. Marshall County Hospital
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42. Mary Breckinridge ARH Hospital
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43. McDowell ARH Hospital
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44. Methodist Hospital
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45. Methodist Hospital Union County
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46. Middlesboro ARH Hospital
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47. Monroe County Medical Center
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48. Morgan County ARH Hospital
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49. Muhlenberg Community Hospital
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50. Murray-Calloway County Hospital
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51. New Horizons Health Systems, Inc.
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52. Nicholas County Hospital
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53. NorthKey Community Care
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54. Norton Audubon Hospital
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55. Norton Brownsboro Hospital
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56. Norton Hospital
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57. Norton Suburban Hospital
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58. Oak Tree Hospital
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59. Ohio County Hospital
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60. Our Lady of Peace Hospital
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61. Parkway Regional Hospital
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62. Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center
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63. Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center
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64. Pikeville Medical Center
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65. Pineville Community Hospital
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66. River Valley Behavioral Health Hospital
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67. Robley Rex VA Medical Center
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68. Rockcastle Regional Hospital and Respiratory Care Center
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69. Russell County Hospital
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70. Saint Joseph Berea
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71. Saint Joseph East
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72. Saint Joseph Hospital
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73. Saint Joseph London
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74. Saint Joseph Martin
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75. Saint Joseph Mount Sterling
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76. Southern Kentucky Rehabilitation Hospital
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77. St. Claire Regional Medical Center
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78. St. Elizabeth Edgewood
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79. St. Elizabeth Florence
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80. St. Elizabeth Fort Thomas
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81. St. Elizabeth Grant
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82. Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
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83. T. J. Samson Community Hospital
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84. Taylor Regional Hospital
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85. The Brook Hospital-Dupont
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86. The Brook Hospital-KMI
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87. The James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital
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88. The Medical Center at Bowling Green
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89. The Medical Center at Franklin
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90. The Medical Center at Scottsville
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91. The Ridge Behavioral Health System
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92. Three Rivers Medical Center
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93. Trigg County Hospital
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94. Trover Health System
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95. Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center
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96. Wayne County Hospital
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97. Western Baptist Hospital
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98. Westlake Regional Hospital
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99. Whitesburg ARH Hospital
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100.Williamson ARH Hospital
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NEWS RELEASE from Cabinet for Health and Family Services May 3, 2012
Kentucky continues planning for state health benefit exchange
If upheld, Governor will create exchange by executive order
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 3, 2012)—Governor Steve Beshear today outlined the state’s ongoing efforts to prepare for the possible implementation of key provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). The case regarding the validity of the ACA remains pending before the United States Supreme Court, and a decision is anticipated in late June.
If upheld, the state has only through the end of this year to demonstrate its readiness to run a health insurance exchange, or the responsibility will default to the federal government. Several interest groups representing employers, health care advocates, and citizens, including the Kentucky Hospital Association, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Voices for Health, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield have expressed that the Commonwealth should not allow the federal government to operate the exchange for Kentucky.
Therefore, if the law is upheld by the Supreme Court, Governor Beshear announced today that he will issue an executive order to establish a Kentucky health benefit exchange. “While no one can predict what the Supreme Court will ultimately decide, it is imperative that the state prepare for any decision,” said Gov. Beshear. “The steps we have taken to date, and the planning process we are putting in place helps ensure the state is able and ready to follow the law, if upheld, and also guarantees we don’t have the federal government running our insurance market.”
The health benefit exchange, a requirement of the ACA, will facilitate the purchase and sale of health plans in the individual market, assist small employers in facilitating the enrollment of their employees in health plans, provide one-stop shopping by helping individuals enroll in health plans, Medicaid and KCHIP, enable individuals to receive premium tax credits and premium subsidies, and qualify small businesses for tax credits.
Officials from CHFS and the Kentucky Department of Insurance will meet with insurers, providers, agents, consumers, employers and advocates in the coming weeks to solicit input on the development of a Kentucky exchange.
“The Commonwealth believes it is best positioned to operate an exchange for the full benefit of Kentuckians,” said CHFS Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes. “Kentucky understands the unique regional and economic needs of our citizens, as well as the health insurance needs of small businesses. We have existing working relationships with insurers, agents, advocates, health care providers and other business partners. By establishing a state-operated exchange, we can also better ensure coordination and integration of eligibility determinations and enrollment with the Medicaid program.”
In February, Kentucky received a $57.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue planning for and implementation of programs and systems required by ACA. These efforts include building an end-to-end eligibility and enrollment system to serve both Medicaid and exchange participants.
The grant funds, along with a $50 million project in the recently enacted budget (HB 265), provide funding toward meeting the Medicaid eligibility requirements under the ACA. The most significant functionality requirements for health insurance affordability programs involve the Medicaid Program and relate to the expansion of eligible people and the associated simplified eligibility rules. Other requirements include easy, online access, real-time eligibility determinations, and enrollment for most Medicaid or KCHIP applicants, and the necessary interfaces with the Health Benefit Exchange. The grant will fund a significant portion of the state’s requirements with 100 percent federal funds, with the remainder of the requirements funded at a 90/10, federal-state matching rate.
Kentucky previously received two federal health insurance exchange planning grants totaling $8.6 million. These grants provided the necessary resources to conduct the research and planning needed to build a better health insurance marketplace and determine how exchanges would be operated.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act please visit www.HealthCare.gov.