Beshear’s office says he is considering ‘various ideas’ for financing Ky. insurance exchange, not just a 1% fee on policies
Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange amid increased criticism from some
Republicans in the legislature and a court case challenging a fee
Beshear created through executive order,” Ryan Alessi reports for cn|2‘s “Pure Politics,” a service of Time Warner Cable.
“Various ideas for a sustainability plan for the exchange are being
discussed, and such a plan will be finalized for implementation before
current funding expires in 2015,” the governor’s office told Alessi. Current funding comes from the federal government.
Beshear’s plans have called for the exchange to be financed with a 1 percent fee on policies bought through the exchange, to be paid by insurance companies using it. “But in a statement in response to questions from Pure Politics, the
governor’s office said it’s suddenly considering other ways to pay for
the exchange,” Alessi reports, adding that the office didn’t respond to his follow-up question about whether legislative approval would be needed for whatever plan was adopted.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, a Democrat from Prestonsburg, said during a Kentucky Hospital Association panel last month that the fee does not require approval of the General Assembly. Senate Health and Welfare Committee Chair Julie Denton, R-Louisville, told Alessi that it does. Here’s a video clip: