Gov. Steve Beshear touted Kentucky’s success in implementing the Affordable Care Act in an address Tuesday to a national healthcare conference in Washington.Beshear told attendees at the State of Enrollment conference that while Kentuckians continue to hold a negative view of President Barack Obama and his health care law, residents are big fans of thestate’s health insurance exchange, Kynect.He said state officials tried to "carefully separate" the politics of the Affordable Care Act and the health care benefits of Kynect."That was a very fine line to walk, and I’m still walking it," he said.Kentucky Democrats have picked up on the messaging, frequently referring to the state’s implementation as “Beshearcare.”More than 421,000 Kentuckians have enrolled through Kynect during its six-month opening signup period.Beshear also used the State of Enrollment talk to address critics of the new health care law.“Nationally, I’ve become the face of Obamacare to many, calling out Sen. Mitch McConnell and others who continue to try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act for being disingenuous now when they talk about it," Beshear said.Both McConnelland U.S. Sen. Rand Paul have recently backed off of claims that the entire Affordable Care Act should be repealed.
