The Barren River District Health Department will soon be one of the places where the uninsured can sign up for health coverage.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear was at the health department Wednesday, unveiling a new kiosk where the uninsured can log on to the kynect website, which went live on Tuesday. The site allows people to browse private insurance plans and see whether they qualify for Medicaid or federal subsidies. Beshear called Tuesday “the first day of the rest of our lives when it comes to health care.”
"If there is one message that I can give to every Kentuckian it's 'check this out,' Beshear advised. "It doesn't matter if you like the President or not, it doesn't matter whether you like me or not. It's about you, it's about your families."
Governor Beshear used the Bowling Green stop to tout several aspects of the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions.
The Barren River District Health Department is one of 150 locations statewide that will eventually have a kiosk. Director Dennis Chaney anticipates the kiosk will be used a lot.
“Particularly in our eight-county service area, we have over 21,000 folks that have been identified as being eligible under the Medicaid expansion and almost another 21,000 of our residents will be eligible for Kynect, and so our work is cut out for us," explained Chaney.
Health Department staff will undergo training and become state certified before helping people enroll on Kentucky’s health exchange.
