Overview
- Governor Andy Beshear announced Wednesday he will apply $255 million of available surplus and unexpected tax revenue to close a current-year Medicaid gap and prevent a 4% cut that was set to take effect Aug. 1.
- The governor said the state now has $781 million in available surplus made up of last year’s budget leftover plus roughly $350 million in extra tax receipts, and that this action protects about 1 million Medicaid enrollees for the rest of the fiscal year.
- Beshear framed the move as a temporary fix and said lawmakers must craft a longer-term funding solution during next year’s legislative session.
- House Speaker David Osborne publicly challenged the administration’s accounting and asked for more evidence about the need for extra funds, while the Kentucky House and Senate Democratic caucuses praised the governor’s action.
- Protests in Frankfort and warnings from providers about service cuts and staffing losses pressured officials, and Beshear said more than $400 million will still go into the rainy day fund after the Medicaid allocation.