Latest news with #MattBevin
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Think Kentucky Medicaid cuts won't affect you? Think again.
Nearly 1 in 3 Kentuckians are covered by Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for low-income Americans. If you're not among them, you probably think you won't be affected by the big bill that the Republican Congress passed for President Trump. Think again. You are likely to be hurt by it, because Medicaid has become such an essential part of Kentucky's health-care system. If you've heard anything about Medicaid in the big bill, it's probably the 'work requirement' for able-bodied adults without dependent children to spend 80 hours a month working, performing community service, going to school at least half-time or a combination of those activities. When Republican Matt Bevin was governor of Kentucky, he tried to impose such rules, but a federal judge in Washington said no, and while Bevin was appealing in 2019 he was ousted by Democrat Andy Beshear, who scuttled the plan. Drafting of the new national plan was overseen by 2nd District Rep. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green, as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He said on X that the panel 'made sure that able-bodied Americans who get free health care, if they're able to work, work for it, like every other American has to get up and go to work every day for their health care. It's only fair that people who are able to work, do work.' That argument appeals to Americans who have at least a mild resentment of people who get something from the government by doing little or nothing. But in practice, work requirements have saved money mainly by disqualifying Medicaid beneficiaries who fail to document their qualifying activities or otherwise fall short on paperwork. That happened in the only such program that was fully implemented, in Arkansas, and projections for the Kentucky program predicted likewise. Republicans in the General Assembly will try to solve that problem, said state Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, co-chair of the legislature's Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board. 'Nobody should be cut off because of a paperwork error,' she said on KET's 'Kentucky Tonight' Monday. She said legislators will 'ask some really hard questions' about 'how to proceed in this new world order,' and try to improve beneficiaries' health. Medicaid cuts likely will force rural hospitals to cut services or close The work requirement was the most-cited reason that the big bill would lead to closure of many rural hospitals, by reducing the number of Medicaid beneficiaries and thus the revenue on which most hospitals depend. But in Kentucky, the bill's biggest effect on hospitals will be more direct, and it seems likely to force many of them to cut back on services or even close. The bill wipes out most of a funding scheme that the legislature has used to help Kentucky hospitals: Raise the 'provider taxes' they pay, use the money as a state match for federal funds, and use the windfall to increase hospitals' Medicaid payments, which usually don't cover the cost of care. Some senators called that 'money laundering,' and the Senate limited it. The House passed the revised bill under deadline pressure from Trump. Opinion: Kentucky depends heavily on federal funding. Trump's cuts will be devastating. The change made the Kentucky Hospital Association withdraw its support for the bill. The Senate added a $50 billion fund to help hospitals, and that will bring Kentucky hospitals at least $100 million a year. But the state's rural hospitals are getting $1 billion a year from the current provider-tax scheme, 'so $100 million is not gonna cut it,' KHA President Nancy Galvagni said on 'Kentucky Tonight.' She told a legislative committee in January that without the scheme, Kentucky hospitals would be operating at a 6 percent negative margin. Kentucky may lose the most from Trump's big bill Kentucky is one of the states that may lose the most from the big bill. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the state will get $25 billion less in federal Medicaid money from 2028 to 2037, a decrease of 17%. Most of the hurt will be on rural hospitals; based on the number that get 'disproportionate share payments' because they are so Medicaid-dependent, Kentucky will have more rural hospitals at risk of closure than any other state. Opinion: McConnell, KY has too much to lose if Medicaid is cut. We won't 'get over it.' Just how much Kentucky stands to lose is an open question, because Democrats use worst-case scenarios, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has a sketchy record of predicting the effects of health-care legislation, and most Republicans don't want to talk about it. Guthrie didn't respond to repeated requests for an interview, and Sen. Mitch McConnell said of his complaining constituents, 'They'll get over it.' Not if their hospital closes or drastically reduces its services. However, the big bill may have little immediate political impact, because the work requirement doesn't take effect until 2027 and the Medicaid funding changes are set for 2028. Congress and the legislature could ease the blow, especially for hospitals, which have a strong lobby. But who lobbies for the poor? And do legislators listen? Al Cross is professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Kentucky and a former political writer for The Courier Journal. The NKyTribune is the home for his commentary, which is offered to other publications with appropriate credit. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Medicaid cuts from Trump's big bill may hit Kentucky hardest | Opinion Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Matt Bevin's ex-running mate Ralph Alvarado announces bid to replace Andy Barr in Congress
A familiar name in Kentucky politics is entering the race to replace U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in Congress. Ralph Alvarado, a former state senator and ex-Gov. Matt Bevin's running mate in his unsuccessful 2019 reelection campaign, announced July 17 that he plans to run to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional District in the next election. In a social media post announcing the move, Alvarado called himself "Day One MAGA" with priorities to "close the border," "crush the woke left," "bring jobs home" and "save America." The seat will be on the ballot in the May 2026 primary. Election Day that fall is set for Nov. 3. Alvarado served in the state Senate from 2015 into 2023, when he was hired as Tennessee's health commissioner by Gov. Bill Lee, who touted Alvarado's background in hospital management and experience as chair of the Kentucky Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, praised the Winchester Republican at the time as "among the most effective legislators in the Kentucky General Assembly." Alvarado stepped down from his position running Tennessee's Department of Health on July 11, state leaders announced. Alvarado made history as the first Hispanic person elected to the Kentucky General Assembly when he won his seat in 2014. While he was raised in California, his mother is from Argentina and his father is from Costa Rica. He was chosen by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention, drawing praise afterward from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as an "impressive leader" with "a bright future in the Republican Party." Other Republicans in the 2026 congressional race include state Rep. Ryan Dotson, also of Winchester, and state Rep. Deanna Gordon, of Richmond, who confirmed she's running on July 9. State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, who represents Lexington, had been considered a potential contender but has said she does not plan to run. Democrats in the race include former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington and former Lexington city council member David Kloiber. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified the district as one of 35 across the county that it hopes to flip in 2026. Barr is vacating the seat in order to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by McConnell. He's running in the Republican primary against former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington businessman Nate Morris. Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson is also running. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ralph Alvarado enters Kentucky race to replace Andy Barr in Congress
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses in 2015 is still fighting Supreme Court's ruling
The Kentucky county clerk who became known around the world for her opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage is still arguing in court that it should be overturned. Kim Davis became a cultural lightning rod 10 years ago, bringing national media and conservative religious leaders to eastern Kentucky as she continued for weeks to deny the licenses. She later met Pope Francis in Rome and was parodied on 'Saturday Night Live.' Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples Davis began denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Videos of a same-sex couple arguing with Davis in the clerk's office over their denial of a license drew national attention to her office. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015. Davis was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky Legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses. Davis cited her Christian faith Davis said her faith forbade her from what she saw as an endorsement of same-sex marriage. Faith leaders and conservative political leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin rallied to her cause. After her release from jail, Davis addressed the media, saying that issuing same-sex marriage licenses 'would be conflicting with God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This would be an act of disobedience to my God.' Davis declined a request for an interview from The Associated Press for this story. A man who was denied a license ran for her office In 2018, one of the men who had confronted Davis over her defiance ran for her office. David Ermold said he believed people in Rowan County were sick of Davis and wanted to move on. When he went to file his papers for the Democratic primary, Davis, a Republican, was there in her capacity as clerk to sign him up. Sitting across a desk from each other, the cordial meeting contrasted the first time they met three years earlier. Both candidates lost; Ermold in the primary and Davis in the general election. She has not returned to politics. 10 years later, Davis wants the Supreme Court to reconsider same-sex marriage Davis' lawyers are attempting again to get her case before the Supreme Court, after the high court declined to hear an appeal from her in 2020. A federal judge has ordered Davis to pay a total of $360,000 in damages and attorney fees to Ermold and his partner. Davis lost a bid in March to have her appeal of that ruling heard by a federal appeals court, but she will appeal again to the Supreme Court. Her attorney, Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, said the goal is affirm Davis' constitutional rights and 'overturn Obergefell.'
Associated Press
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses in 2015 is still fighting Supreme Court's ruling
The Kentucky county clerk who became known around the world for her opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage is still arguing in court that it should be overturned. Kim Davis became a cultural lightning rod 10 years ago, bringing national media and conservative religious leaders to eastern Kentucky as she continued for weeks to deny the licenses. She later met Pope Francis in Rome and was parodied on 'Saturday Night Live.' Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples Davis began denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Videos of a same-sex couple arguing with Davis in the clerk's office over their denial of a license drew national attention to her office. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015. Davis was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky Legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses. Davis cited her Christian faith Davis said her faith forbade her from what she saw as an endorsement of same-sex marriage. Faith leaders and conservative political leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin rallied to her cause. After her release from jail, Davis addressed the media, saying that issuing same-sex marriage licenses 'would be conflicting with God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This would be an act of disobedience to my God.' Davis declined a request for an interview from The Associated Press for this story. A man who was denied a license ran for her officeIn 2018, one of the men who had confronted Davis over her defiance ran for her office. David Ermold said he believed people in Rowan County were sick of Davis and wanted to move on. When he went to file his papers for the Democratic primary, Davis, a Republican, was there in her capacity as clerk to sign him up. Sitting across a desk from each other, the cordial meeting contrasted the first time they met three years earlier. Both candidates lost; Ermold in the primary and Davis in the general election. She has not returned to politics. 10 years later, Davis wants the Supreme Court to reconsider same-sex marriageDavis' lawyers are attempting again to get her case before the Supreme Court, after the high court declined to hear an appeal from her in 2020. A federal judge has ordered Davis to pay a total of $360,000 in damages and attorney fees to Ermold and his partner. Davis lost a bid in March to have her appeal of that ruling heard by a federal appeals court, but she will appeal again to the Supreme Court. Her attorney, Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, said the goal is affirm Davis' constitutional rights and 'overturn Obergefell.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bevins ‘paid for pain, not protection,' says lawyer for former governor's adopted son
Jonah Bevin, adoptive son of former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Glenna Bevin, speaks to attorney Dawn Post, left, in court in Louisville, March 21, 2025. (Photo by Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal, via press pool) Lawyers for Jonah Bevin, the adopted son of former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, have filed a sharply worded reply to claims Matt Bevin filed under seal April 25 in which he responds to 'certain assertions' made by his estranged son. In a response Tuesday, Dawn J. Post, a lawyer and child advocate representing Jonah, disputes assertions that Matt and Glenna Bevin — who are now divorced — spent 'significant resources' on care for the youth they adopted around age 5 from Ethiopia. In reality, most money was spent on a series of out-of-state residential facilities for Jonah, starting at age 13, culminating in his abandonment at age 17 at the Atlantis Leadership Academy, a brutally violent youth facility in Jamaica that was shut down by child welfare authorities in 2024, Post said in a 10-page affidavit. 'The Bevins paid for pain, not protection,' Post's affidavit said. 'Jonah's harm stemmed from the decisions of those responsible for his well-being, not his own actions.' While Matt Bevin portrays Jonah as a 'troubled teen,' Post responds his behavior and emotional well-being were worsened by harsh and sometimes abusive facilities, most of all the Jamaican facility where youths allege brutal beatings and treatment that amounted to torture. Matt Bevin claims to have filed his affidavit under seal 'due to the sensitive nature of the content,' lawyer John H. Helmers, who also represents Jonah, said in a filing Tuesday that accompanies Post's affidavit. Their filing is public. The Bevins did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Former KY Gov. Matt Bevin's adopted son reportedly removed from abusive facility in Jamaica The filing comes in the midst of a court battle between Jonah and his adoptive parents over the son's claims of abuse and neglect and allegations the couple abandoned him in Jamaica. As part of the case, Jonah has obtained protective orders against Matt and Glenna Bevin, barring them from direct contact with him, in part because he alleged they tried to get him out of the country this year on a hastily arranged trip to Ethiopia. The Bevins claimed to have located Jonah's birth mother they had previously told him was deceased, according to court records. Jonah has since said in a court filing he believes 'they were trying to get me to disappear.' Matt Bevin, in his affidavit, said during a period in October 2023 when he was living with the Bevins, Jonah was charged with assaulting and threatening to kill a family member. Post's affidavit said Jonah has never denied the incident, an apparent altercation with his father, and entered a diversion program under court supervision in Jefferson County to resolve the charges. But the event highlights a 'critical inconsistency,' Post's affidavit said. It says Jonah — while supposedly under court supervision, was removed in late 2023 at age 17 and sent out of the country to Jamaica with no notice to the court or family court judge who was then presiding over the Bevins' divorce case, including oversight of their minor children. 'Why was this court never informed of his removal and custodial status at that time?' it asks. Post's affidavit also provides the first detailed account in the court record of Jonah's alleged abandonment in Jamaica by the Bevins and their refusal to intervene on his behalf after he was removed from the Jamaica facility along with six other youths by child welfare officials. Matt Bevin alleges he worked on Jonah's behalf but Post, in her affidavit said 'Matt Bevin did the exact opposite and Glenna Bevin did not intervene on Jonah's behalf.' Instead, she said, through her involvement in the court case she learned Matt Bevin was seeking to keep Jonah in Jamaica. 'I don't have anybody': Adoptive teen son of a KY governor talks about life on his own Post said, she, as a child advocate, spent three weeks in Jamaica in 2024 working on behalf of the youths removed from the facility, including Jonah, and said the Bevins were only parents who did not 'engage' with the U.S. embassy or Jamaican child welfare authorities to assist in his care and return to the United States. The case attracted international media attention after hotel heiress and celebrity Paris Hilton — an advocate for children in the so-called 'troubled teen' industry — flew to Jamaica to aid the youths. At a court hearing in Jamaica, the defense lawyer for the Atlantis Academy — whose employees are facing abuse charges in Jamaica — claimed he had been retained by the Bevins to speak on Jonah's behalf and argued for the facility to be reopened and Jonah returned to it, Post's affidavit said. Post described Jonah as 'noticeably withdrawn' and said he told her he was aware his family did not want him back. As a result, Jonah was placed in custody of the Jamaican child welfare system while Post and various authorities in that country and the United States tried to work out a placement in the United States, settling on a provider in Florida. Officials needed approval of Jonah's parents, but were unable to reach them to obtain their assistance, the affidavit said. Post, in her affidavit, said she then called Glenna Bevin herself. In a recorded call, Glenna Bevin told her she agreed with the plan but she and Matt Bevin disagreed. She said she would try to reach her then-husband but warned he could be 'tricky' and that he 'doesn't always respond' to attempts to contact him. Glenna Bevin also asked Post to share her contact information with officials because 'Matt Bevin had allegedly left her out of Jonah's care and protection.' Jonah Bevin returned to the United States in May 2024, three months after he was removed from the Jamaican facility, after officials with the U.S. embassy obtained the Bevins' consent, Post's affidavit said. 'I worked for weeks with Jamaican and U.S. Embassy authorities to arrange and pay for Jonah's return flight to the United States on which he was accompanied by a U.S. State Department representative,' Post's affidavit said. His return came 'despite the work of the Bevins to keep him in Jamaica' and 'at no cost to the Bevins,' it said. Post's affidavit said Jonah remains traumatized by the events and, since legal proceedings began earlier this year, underwent a comprehensive evaluation at a Child Advocacy Center of his physical and emotional health. 'The Bevins have never initiated an inquiry into the long-term impact of the trauma Jonah suffered while in their care, nor have they ever asked him about the continuing effects of the abuse and neglect,' Post's affidavit said. 'There has been no meaningful effort to address the harm Jonah suffered both in Jamaica and in prior placements,' it said. Jonah turned 18 last November after returning to the United States from Jamaica but has questioned in a court filing whether that birth date is accurate, citing a recently obtained adoption document that shows a different birth day, which would make him just 17. Meanwhile, Jonah is still awaiting a ruling from Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson on his request to intervene in the case to protect his interests. He has said he is living on his own without support from the Bevins and spent his 18th birthday in a homeless shelter. Jonah and the Courier Journal have both objected to the Bevins' request that their proposed divorce settlement, which the judge must review, be kept confidential. Following a hearing last month, Judge Johnson said she hopes to rule as soon as possible. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
