Dive Brief:
- Kentucky Health and Family Services Secretary Vickie Yates Glisson revealed Wednesday the cost of moving the state to the federal health exchange would be about $240,000 — not $23 million as opponents of the plan have claimed, according to a release.
- The state will begin seeing savings in the first two years of transition, Glisson said.
- Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has promised to dismantle the state health exchange, Kynect, and transition to the federal exchange by the end of this year.
Dive Insight:
Bevin notified HHS in December of plans to move to the federal exchange, saying Kynect is not sustainable. According to data presented by the Kentucky government, Kynect has cost $330 million to date, with operational costs alone estimated to be $35 million in 2016.
By contrast, steering Kentuckians to Healthcare.gov will cost the state about $6.4 million, a substantial savings, officials said.
“It is time to set the record straight on kynect,” Governor Bevin said in a prepared statement.
“My administration has repeatedly disputed the claim often made by proponents of kynect that it will cost the state $23 million to transition to the federal exchange," he added. "This is not true. In fact, we now know that the net IT costs for the transition are expected to be $240,000.”
Once the transition is complete, the administration expects to see annual savings of $15 million to $25 million.
“The methodical approach by this administration is paying off,” Glisson said in a statement. “By transitioning to the federal exchange, Kentucky will save $20 million a year that can be used for other pressing healthcare needs without compromising access to health insurance products.”
In 2015, approximately 85,000 people—2% of the population—were insured through Kynect, the administration said.
Last month, former Gov. Steve Beshear (D) launched a massive campaign to derail Bevin’s plans for Kynect, Healthcare Dive previously reported. Among other points, he said the exchange has improved the health of Kentuckians and brought in nearly $3 billion in direct revenue to state providers.