Two out of three registered voters in Kentucky say Medicaid should be left as is instead of scaled back to cover fewer people. A similar number oppose six-month lockout periods for Medicaid participants who fail to report income changes within ten days.
In 2016, the Bevin administration filed an 1115 Medicaid waiver proposal that would reduce the number of people enrolled and introduce lockout penalties. A new Mason-Dixon poll shows that both components are unpopular across party lines, gender, age groups and region. Opposition is strongest in Eastern Kentucky and among voters under 35.
KEJC director Rich Seckel says, “People understand the difference between bureaucracy and opportunity. The results suggest people saw the plan as creating barriers to health care.”
This poll isn’t the first sign the proposed changes to Medicaid are unpopular. Over 1,800 commenters weighed in on the plan in 2016 and almost 1,200 on proposed changes in 2017. The vast majority of them expressed concern over the impact on access to health care for low-income Kentuckians. The new poll shows that the concerns expressed in those comments are shared widely across the state.
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