Health care is a basic human right and Gov. Beshear believes every Kentucky family deserves to see a doctor and receive treatment when they are sick.
As attorney general and now as governor, Andy Beshear has fought for accessible, affordable health care for all Kentuckians, to protect those with preexisting conditions and to end price gouging and other abuses by pharmaceutical companies.
In his first week in office, Gov. Beshear followed through on his promise to rescind the Medicaid waiver that would have kicked nearly 100,000 Kentuckians off their coverage.
When the state expanded Medicaid, it provided 400,000 more of our fellow Kentuckians access to affordable health care. After the expansion, our neighbors could go see a doctor without fear of bankruptcy. And the expansion ensured that nearly all of Kentucky's children had real access to health care.
Kentucky cannot turn its back on the progress we have made. That is why Gov. Beshear proposed fully funding expanded Medicaid in his budget and included funding to work to sign up every single person that qualifies.
Expanded Medicaid improves the health of thousands of Kentuckians, saves our families from financial ruin and saves lives, particularly in a state where our people have some of the worst health outcomes in the country. Kentucky is in the top 10 in lung cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Unfortunately, in recent years we have seen a trend where more and more children that qualify for KCHIP coverage are not getting signed up, leaving too many of our children with no health care. Gov. Beshear included $2 million in his proposed budget to enroll every eligible child.
Gov. Beshear is committed to building a Kentucky that is safer for our children and making a major investment so the state no longer leads the nation in child abuse and neglect. In his budget, the governor proposed funding for an additional 350 social workers and support staff to reduce the backlog that burns out our dedicated social workers and allows some of our children to fall through the cracks. The social worker shortage has dire consequences for our children. Gov. Beshear is urging legislators to join him to act now and stop the child abuse and neglect.
Gov. Beshear is doing everything in his power to ensure that Kentuckians with pre-existing conditions do not lose their coverage. Insurers should not be able to deny health care coverage to approximately 1.8 million Kentuckians with preexisting medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, cancer and even pregnancy.
He is fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs, starting with insulin. The governor is among the bipartisan leaders who are urging the General Assembly to take action to cap insulin costs, which would help fellow Kentuckians who are at risk of losing their lives or permanently damaging their health because they cannot afford their daily supply of insulin. This is unacceptable and dangerous. There are nearly 600,000 Kentuckians suffering from diabetes.
Health care is not a partisan issue – it's a Kentucky issue – and Gov. Beshear will work to find common ground with lawmakers to build a Commonwealth where more of our people have access to affordable, quality health care.