FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Gov. Andy Beshear urged state lawmakers on Tuesday to jump-start a stalled bill that would prevent health insurers from denying coverage to Kentuckians due to preexisting medical conditions.
The bill’s supporters said there’s a growing sense of urgency to pass the legislation. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide a lawsuit that threatens the Obama-era federal health care law guaranteeing health coverage for people with preexisting conditions.
The state needs a backup law to maintain that coverage in the event the Affordable Care Act is struck down, they said. Beshear noted that about 1.8 million Kentuckians have preexisting conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and cancer.
“If we pass House Bill 21, Kentuckians will no longer have to worry,” the governor told reporters. “They will know that in their state we support their health care. That we are looking out after them. And no matter what the Supreme Court does, that those with preexisting conditions would be protected in this commonwealth.”
Beshear, a Democrat, made health care a signature issue in defeating GOP incumbent Matt Bevin last year. During the campaign, Beshear vowed to support inserting ACA consumer protections into state law, saying it would spare Kentuckians from the political battles in Washington, D.C.
The bill was introduced in early January but has stalled in the House Banking and Insurance Committee. Democratic Rep. Patti Minter, the bill’s lead sponsor, said it’s “unconscionable” for lawmakers to potentially expose people to losing health coverage due to preexisting conditions.
“These protections work,” Minter said at a news conference with Beshear. “These protections are incredibly popular.”
Beshear urged the GOP-led legislature to vote on the bill. The measure applies to private and public insurance plans, including the state health plan, its supporters said.
“We hear folks from all different sides of the aisle saying we support coverage for preexisting conditions,” the governor said. “Now’s the time to prove it. It’s a very simple bill and very clearly would mandate coverage for preexisting conditions. … Let’s get it done.”
Amanda Perkins said the federal health care law’s protections for preexisting conditions “almost certainly saved my life.” She said she was diagnosed with diabetes during her last year of law school. Her yearly medical costs would have been around $22,000 without insurance, she said.
“There was no way that I could afford to pay for my life-sustaining medications without insurance,” she said at the news conference.
If the ACA is struck down and the state protections aren’t enacted as a backup, Perkins said she’s “terrified of what it will mean for my life” and the lives of other Kentuckians with preexisting medical problems.
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