While Kentucky's implementation of the Affordable Care Act has received national attention,state lawmakers from both parties are not pleased with parts of the legislation.At a meeting of the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Banking and Insurance, Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate expressed anger and confusion over the ACA’s provision requiring millions of insured Americans to upgrade their bare-bones health plans. More than a quarter million Kentuckians fall into this group.Some lawmakers were unsure about which insurance pools were affected, and many took the opportunity to vent their frustration with the entire law.“I think this is a program to get the uninsured insured, and the insured uninsured," said state Sen. Tom Buford, a Nicholasville Republican and co-chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee.But committee co-chair Rep. Jeff Greer, a Brandenburg Democrat, chided his colleagues for putting politics first.“I know, at times, politics can cause us to rear our ugly heads, but let’s look at this with some inquisitive minds as to how to help our people. Our people need help," Greer said.Lawmakers also received word that one of the state’s largest insurers, Humana, has agreed to a Presidential order to give those in need of plan upgrades more time to do so. Anthem, the state's other major insurer, has not agreed.
