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Supreme Court Decision On Affordable Care Act Will Impact Thousands of Kentuckians

CDC/Unsplash

With the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments Tuesday about the future of the Affordable Care Act, the upcoming decision will have a major impact on the health of Kentuckians. 

Kentucky ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of adults with high cholesterol, 4th in the number of obese children, and 6th in the number of obese adults.

The state ranks 7th in the number of adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Those are among the findings in the report 2020s Most Overweight and Obese States in America by the personal finance website WalletHub. 

The Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act will impact more than 500,000 Kentuckians, many who got coverage for the first time with the passage of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and subsidies for insurance premiums.

Kentucky’s state-run health insurance exchange, Kynect, launched in 2013 under the ACA, and the number of uninsured Kentuckians was reduced from 14% to 6%.

Kynect was dismantled by former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, but is currently being revived by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, and is expected to be fully operational by fall 2021.

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