Beshear says he will create state health insurance exchange if federal health reform law is upheld

Gov. Steve Beshear said today that he will wait on creating a health insurance exchange under federal health reform until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the reform law, which is expected to happen in late June. He said in a press release, “The steps we have taken to date, and the planning process we are putting in place helps ensure the state is able and ready to follow the law.”

The exchange, a requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, would be a market for individual health-insurance policies. It would help small employers insure their employees in health plans and "enable individuals to receive premium tax credits and premium subsidies, and qualify small businesses for tax credits," the release said.

"The state has a $57.8 million federal grant to plan and implement of programs and systems required by the law, including "building an end-to-end eligibility and enrollment system to serve both Medicaid and exchange participants," the release said. "Kentucky previously received two federal health insurance exchange planning grants totaling $8.6 million." (Read more)

With time running short, why wait to issue an order? The court's decision "may impact the nature of the executive action," said Jill Midkiff, spokeswoman for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. "The timing of issuance of the executive order will not impact the current work or future work that is being completed to establish a state exchange. There is nothing that we need to accomplish at this point that requires an executive order to be in place."

Beshear names Audrey Haynes secretary of embattled Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Audrey Tayse Haynes, who is a social worker by training but knows her way around politics, government and the nonprofit world, will be the new secretary of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. She will replace Janie Miller, who resigned last month after controversies over Medicaid managed care and release of child-abuse records.

"Audrey brings a dynamic mix of large-scale organization management, policy development, and government experience to this position," said Gov. Steve Beshear, who made the appointment. "This cabinet is a complex organization, with a broad range of programs that serve tens of thousands of our most vulnerable Kentuckians. Audrey has the right skills and resources to make sure our citizens continue to get the care and services they need."

Haynes, who starts her new job April 16, has spent the last 10 years as senior vice president and chief government affairs officer for the YMCA of the USA in Washington, D.C. During the latter part of the Clinton administration, she was chief of staff to Tipper Gore and an assistant to Vice President Al Gore. She first went to Washington on an appointment from Gov. Paul Patton as head of the state's policy office in the nation's capital.

Earlier, she was director of human resource development in the Department of Mental Health in the former Cabinet for Human Resources, and ran a literacy program with First Lady Martha Wilkinson in the administration of Gov. Wallace Wilkinson. She has bachelor's and master's degrees in social work, respectively, from Spalding University in Louisville and the University of Kentucky.

"From my experience working with Audrey Haynes, I know her to be a consummate professional," former state auditor Crit Luallen, who worked with Haynes during the Patton administration, said in the Beshear administration's press release. "She will bring strong management skills, as well as national leadership experience to this critical cabinet post."

Haynes said in the release, "I am excited to be back in Kentucky full time. CHFS impacts every single Kentuckian — whether through birth certificates, health departments, restaurant inspections or services to the elderly. I feel that I am returning to my roots of social work and mental health services."

One of her first areas of focus will likely be monitoring the new Medicaid system, which brought managed care to 560,000 recipients in November. During the current legislative session, lawmakers have heard complaints about the transition, including the manner in which those with mental illnesses are being treated. "Now that Secretary Haynes is in place, we can continue to make progress on major initiatives such as managed care and ensure that our citizens get the services they deserve," said Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, chairman of the subcommittee that writes the cabinet's budget. (Read more)