Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell late last year, notifying her of his plans to discontinue the ACA-associated healthcare exchange kynect and help Kentuckians transition to HealthCare.gov for their coverage needs.
Bevin’s office claims that it is pushing for kynect’s closure due to its “redundancy,” saying that the exchange adds no value since it fills the same role as HealthCare.gov.
The changes will not affect those who have already signed up for Medicaid through kynect, nor will it affect those currently shopping around for insurance—except they will have to continue searching through the federal government’s website for deals.
Some are worried that Bevin’s move to shut down kynect could have drastic effects for the state. Former governor Steve Beshear had advised Bevin to keep the exchange as is, since it is being financed through a surcharge on insurance plans. Beshear warned that closing kynect could cost the state as much as $23 million. Moreover, advocates of kynect claim that Bevin will considerably set back efforts by the health exchange to help the uninsured.
