Federal officials on Tuesday gave cautious approval to Gov. Matt Bevin's plan to dismantle the state health exchange launched in 2013 as a means for Kentuckians to shop for health insurance or enroll in Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Bevin had pledged to shut down the state exchange he said was redundant and steer Kentuckians seeking commercial health insurance plans to healthcare.gov. Kentuckians seeking Medicaid, the majority of people who obtained coverage through kynect, will use benefind, the state's new online enrollment system for public benefits.
While approving the plan, a top official with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department expressed concern about the impact of the transition on the about 500,000 Kentuckians who gained health coverage through kynect.
"We remain concerned that kynect's transition to the federal platform may disrupt the seamless system of coverage that kynect established," Andrew Slavitt said in a letter to Bevin.
The changes "may result in confusion for Kentucky consumers," Slavitt's letter said. It said the federal government will "closely monitor" the changes.
