Beshear Vetoes Portion of Medicaid Bill

As promised, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has vetoed large sections of the Medicaid bill approved by state lawmakers.Across-the-board cuts to state agencies, including education are out. So is language preventing additional furloughs, face-to-face interviews of Medicaid applicants, debt restructuring, and legislative pay during the veto recess.“And I would certainly suggest to the Senate majority that they can step up and voluntarily write a check back to the commonwealth for any pay that they receive after March 24th," he says.The vetoes will allow Beshear to move forward with his original plan for balancing Medicaid, which includes projected savings from managed care. Senate President David Williams predicted the House would want to return to Frankfort to override some of the vetoes, but Speaker Greg Stumbo issued a statement saying Beshear “did what he said he would do."