A state official is condemning some national media reports that say Kentucky's health exchange is enrolling dead people.
An instruction on the Kynect website says "If you are filling out this application on behalf of a person who has recently passed away, enter the deceased person's date of death." This part of the application is actually for those who would have been eligible for Medicaid before death. Medicaid will pay three months of medical expenses prior to someone's death. Gwenda Bond in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says this is not some provision of Obamacare.
"This is something that Medicaid has always allowed, it's part of the federal Medicaid program," explains Bond. "Every state, as far as I know, that participates in the Medicaid program follows this exact same guideline. The requirement itself is the same everywhere."
Bond says it also allows the state to prevent fraud. If a person came in at a later time and tried to get benefits with someone else's identity, the system would immediately catch it by having a date of death.
