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Current, Ex-Kentucky Governors Battle Over Health Law Legacy
By: Associated Press
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – As Republicans in Congress prepare to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law, Kentucky’s current governor and his predecessor are wrestling over the law’s legacy — and both sides claim the state as a case study of the law’s impact.
Former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear embraced the Affordable Care Act, expanding Kentucky’s Medicaid program and setting up a state-run health insurance exchange. But Matt Bevin, Beshear’s Republican successor, dismantled the state exchange and applied for a waiver to overhaul Medicaid, aiming to move people off the publicly-funded program and onto private insurance plans.
Their public feud was on display to a national audience Tuesday night, when Republican President Donald Trump quoted Bevin in a speech before Congress. Democrats turned to Beshear to give a nationally televised response.