What Happens If Gov. Bevin Repeals Medicaid Expansion?

Gov. Matt Bevin says he’ll do away with Kentucky’s expanded Medicaid system if the federal government doesn’t approve a waiver he’s seeking to augment the expansion.  No state has repealed a Medicaid expansion yet.

If the expansion is totally repealed, those who earn more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level—that’s a little under $12,000 a year—would still be eligible for subsidized insurance through healthcare.gov.

Marybeth Musumeci with the Kaiser Family Foundations says. “They would likely experience higher out-of-pocket costs compared to what they experience under Medicaid and there may be some differences in the benefit package”

But many earning less than 100 percent of the poverty line would fall into a coverage gap where they neither qualify for subsidies nor Medicaid benefits.

This isn’t the governor’s first choice—he wants the federal government to approve his proposal to charge monthly premiums and eliminate vision and dental coverage from the expansion.