Ky. governor defends health programs to be cut by successor

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Seeking to defend the signature achievement of his administration, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on Friday promoted the advances in public health under programs that Gov.-elect Matt Bevin has proposed curtailing.

Beshear, in his first public appearance since the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, cited what he said were Kentucky's enormous gains in public health under the Affordable Care Act, which included an expansion of Medicaid and creation of the state health insurance exchange, kynect.

Bevin, a Republican, defeated Democrat Jack Conway, campaigning on a promise to dismantle kynect and scale back the Medicaid expansion that added health coverage for about 400,000 Kentuckians.

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Beshear, a Democrat who authorized kynect and the Medicaid expansion under the law known as Obamacare, appeared with Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen, the chair of an oversight group called kyhealthnow.

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Luallen urged the state not to falter in efforts to improve public health.

"While wonderful progress has been made," said Luallen, "the real test will be in continued sustainability of these efforts."

Among the achievements they cited:

• Ninety percent of Kentuckians now have access to health coverage. Under kynect and the Medicaid expansion, Kentucky had the sharpest decline in the nation among people who lacked health insurance, dropping from 20.4% to 9%.

• More people are using health coverage for preventive treatment and screenings. The number of Kentuckians obtaining preventive dental care and screenings for breast and colon cancer doubled from 2013 to 2014, the first full year of health coverage under the new law.

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• Smoking has decreased and obesity has declined.

Luallen used the occasion to issue the final report of kyhealthnow, which was designed to monitor the health status of Kentuckians during Beshear's tenure. Its mandate was far broader that tracking gains under the Affordable Care Act and reviewed efforts to improve physical activity, cut smoking and reduce abuse and overdose deaths.

But Beshear and Luallen singled out the federal health law as bringing about the most dramatic changes.

"We are well on our way to achieving our goal of ensuring that even our most vulnerable citizens have the benefit of affordable health care," Luallen said.