Tagged: Tea Party

Tea party activists are pushing to dismantle Kentucky's new health insurance exchange before it even gets off the ground.

Activists said Thursday after a board meeting for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange that they are supporting a bill to require legislative approval of the exchange, which was created by executive order of the governor.

Meanwhile, exchange executive director Carrie Banahan told board members that progress is being made in setting up a website that's supposed to make picking health insurance similar to buying an airline ticket from an online travel site. The site will allow consumers to compare costs and benefits.

Exchanges are a key part of the President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul. Banahan predicts about 300,000 people will purchase insurance through Kentucky's exchange.

Kentucky Tea Party activists are carrying their fight against the Affordable Care Act into the new year.

Before the first gavel of the session Tuesday, Tea Party activists plan to rally in the Capitol Rotunda against the ACA.

It’s the second capital rally against the law, which Kentucky has actively worked to implement under an executive order from Governor Steve Beshear.

Rally organizer and activist David Adams says the goal of the event is to convince lawmakers to pass a measure overturning Beshear’s order.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says the Tea Party has been good for the Republican Party. Critics of the Tea Party blame it for costing the GOP the majority in the U.S. Senate the past four years, citing high-profile losses in Delaware, Nevada and Indiana.

Last week, the leader of the Tea Party in the Senate, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, announced he was leaving to lead a think tank.

But McConnell says the Tea Party has done something important for the GOP -- it's energized the party.

An annual report that describes the state’s financial outlook shows that Kentucky has once again gone deeper into debt. The report, when compared with past years, shows the state added more than $110 million in debt during the last fiscal year.