Obamacare Cuts Kentucky’s Uninsured Rate By 40 Percent

Gov. Steve Beshear listens to a question during a news conference to announce the call for a special legislative session in Frankfort, Ky., Wednesday, June 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
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Obamacare has cut Kentucky’s uninsured population by more than 40 percent, signing up roughly 360,000 residents since enrollment opened up on Oct. 1, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Some 75 percent of them — 270,000 — were previously uninsured. That means Kentucky’s uninsured population of 640,000 has come down by 42 percent.

The enrollment figures, which state officials relayed to the Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader, underscore the relative success of Kentucky’s state-based Obamacare exchange compared to other states and, in some ways, the HealthCare.gov federal marketplace portal.

Like the federal government, Kentucky has decided to give people who began their applications until April 15 to sign up for insurance on the exchanges. State officials told the Herald-Leader that those who are eligible for Medicaid can sign up after the March 31 deadline.

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