Kentucky recently became the first and only state in the country to formally request and receive a waiver from the Trump regime allowing the state to impose work and training requirements for Medicaid enrollment.
Several groups are actively considering filing lawsuits against the new requirements, but Bevin says that if a court strikes down his requirements he'll simply rescind all of Medicaid expansion. Bevin signed an executive order on Friday that would be just that.
"Is the governor of Kentucky saying that if he is caught doing something illegal, he will take health care away from hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who have done nothing wrong?" asked Leonardo Cuello, director of health policy for the National Health Law Program. [...]
The expansion added about 480,000 people to Kentucky's Medicaid program, which covers about 1.4 million people. Bevin's changes are aimed largely at those added through the expansion though some, such as pregnant women or disabled and chronically ill people, would be exempt.
If Bevin did unilaterally take coverage away from nearly 500,000 people, it would be a disaster, and not just a human disaster.
There are doctors, pharmacies, and other health care providers across Kentucky that depend on the business of Medicaid to remain open. Nearly 1 in 5 people in Kentucky are enrolled in Medicaid, making it one of if not the most important program for employment in the state.
Bevin's threat to kill people if he doesn't get his way is a threat to the entire state, not just people enrolled in Medicaid. Where do you think people employed in the health care industry shop? Where do they buy cars? What happens if they lose their jobs?
I have my doubts that Bevin would ever follow through on his threat, but I have no doubt that he is a piece of shit.