Op-ed: Policymakers need to keep health care costs in check
Nowhere are the stresses of the pandemic on Kentucky more apparent than in the health care delivery system. Our state has seen the largest jump in Medicaid enrollment in the nation. Between February and August, Medicaid rolls swelled 17.2%, with more than 226,000 new enrollees. Now, one in three Kentuckians are Medicaid beneficiaries.
It is clear Kentucky’s small business sector, which employed about 45% of the workforce before the start of the pandemic, is reeling. There has been some stabilization, but employers and workers are still doing their best under difficult circumstances to keep their jobs and their company-sponsored or individual health plans. In good times, but especially in lean times like this, it is incumbent on policymakers to keep health care costs in check.