Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has suspended dental and vision benefits for nearly 500,000 Medicaid recipients after a federal judge blocked his plan to overhaul the safety net program.
Bevin’s administration was set to launch a massive reorganization of Medicaid benefits on July 1. The changes, which were approved by the Trump administration in January, included requiring certain beneficiaries to work and to pay premiums. The reorganization also would have changed dental and vision coverage for many low-income adults.
The effort was halted — at least temporarily — on Friday after US District Judge James Boasberg voided the federal approval and kicked the matter back to the Department of Health and Human Services for further review. Calling the agency’s approval “arbitrary and capricious,” Boasberg said HHS Secretary Alex Azar had neglected to analyze whether Kentucky’s plan would cause recipients to lose their health insurance coverage.
