Tagged: Affordable Care Act

Last week, Murray Calloway County Hospital announced the elimination of 28 jobs. MCCH CEO Jerry Penner says the cuts are results of a turbulent healthcare environment including low patient volume and declining Medicaid reimbursements. Shelly Baskin speaks with Penner about the details surrounding the cuts, and the financial trouble related to Managed Care Organizations and the Affordable Care Act.

Federal health care reforms have led to the creation of a government agency in Kentucky comparable in staffing to the secretary of state's office, with 30 employees. But it also has scores of contract workers and an annual budget more than 10 times larger, at $39.5 million.  The Kentucky Health Benefits Exchange will help more than 600,000 uninsured residents arrange coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

One lesser-known aspect of the Affordable Care Act is it’s reliance on state health cooperatives —  which work separate of the state- or federally run health exchange, but are free to offer their own brand of insurance on the exchange.

But recent Congressional deal-making is putting those co-ops in danger.

While states are getting grants to fund their exchanges, co-ops were getting federal loans which had to be paid back within five years.

As the 2013 Kentucky legislative session begins, Tea Party activists are encouraging lawmakers to abandon the implementation of the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — in the state because of fiscal and health care concerns.

The fight over the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky will continue in the new year, Tea Party activists say. When Kentucky lawmakers return to start the 2013 legislative session Tuesday, they will be greeted with a rally opposing the health care law.