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Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
From AI rules to Medicaid changes: 40 bills on track to become law in Kentucky
The sprint is over. In the last full week of Kentucky's legislative session, lawmakers pushed more than 100 bills through both chambers, sending them on to Gov. Andy Beshear to sign, veto or let become law without his signature. That includes controversial bills banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public universities, clarifying when abortions are legal and prohibiting Medicaid from funding hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgeries. Beshear has until March 26 to decide what he'll do with each bill passed. After that, Republican-controlled legislature will meet for two final days so lawmakers can choose whether to override the Democratic governor's vetoes. Below is information on 40 bills (and one resolution) that have been sent on to this desk. Find all bills that have been delivered to Beshear here. Find bills Beshear has already signed into law here. More: In stunning final hour, 3 controversial bills pass Kentucky legislature : Creates a Kentucky Film Office to encourage and incentive film production in the Bluegrass State. : Prohibits public funds from being spent on hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery for inmates. : Lets state universities directly pay student-athletes through "name, image and likeness" agreements. This bill was signed into law by Beshear on March 13. : Establishes regulations for the use of artificial intelligence by state agencies and requires disclosure when AI-generated content is used in political messaging. : Requires schools to have a moment of silence at the start of each school day. It also lets school boards allow students to be excused for up to one hour each week for "moral instruction." : Establishes a Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board, requires state agencies to give software access to the state auditor and requires each state agency to submit biannual reports on cost-saving measures and possible staff reductions, among other measures. : Prevents the Cabinet for Health and Family Services from disapproving someone for a child placement — including through foster care and adoption — because they have a disability. : Criminalizes sexual extortion, or "sextortion." This bill was signed into law on March 12. : Ensures courts do not defer to state agencies' interpretations of laws. : Reduces pollution protections for some water resources, including groundwater. : Requires all tobacco and vape retailers to obtain a license through the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and grants the department enforcement authority. : Updates an existing law for high school sports to add information regarding mandatory reporting around child abuse and neglect for students, parents and coaches. : Makes tampering with a gift card a felony. : Regulates hemp-based beverages by capping THC at five milligrams per drink and moving regulatory authority under the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. : Authorizes public schools to become "schools of innovation." : Voids a controversial line-item budget veto by Beshear that prevented state lawmakers from exempting "bullion currency" — or gold and silver coins — from taxation. It also give people who have paid sales taxes on gold and silver since August the power to use the courts to seek a refund along with $1,000 for "each day that the violation occurred," paid by the governor's office. : Bans diversity, equity and inclusion programs and offices at public colleges and universities. : Requires all new regulations put in place by state cabinets that would cause an economic impact of $500,000 or greater over a two-year period to be approved by the legislature before going into effect. It's modeled after a federal bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, known as the REINS Act. : Lets property owners request law enforcement to remove "squatters," or people unlawfully occupying their property. : Lowers the age teens are eligible to apply for a driver's permit from 16 to 15. : Enhances criminal penalties for repeated violations of an order of protection. : Removes the certificate of need requirement for freestanding birth centers. An amendment also outlines medical conditions and obstetrical complications that are not considered abortion under Kentucky law. : Allows air pollution control boards to only consider methods or tests that are accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for enforcement. That excludes citizen-collected pollution data. : Authorizes posthumous adoption if a child dies while going through the court proceeding. This bill was signed into law on March 15. : Mandates that a person is guilty of theft if they fail to vacate a rented property by an agreed time. This bill was signed into law on March 15. : Requires local school boards to adopt policies banning cellphones during instructional time, except during an emergency or if authorized by a teacher. : Requires hospitals to provide training for emergency department staff on sexual assault emergency response requirements, protocols and resources. This bill was signed into law on March 12. : Allows kindergarteners to repeat a year if they don't meet certain academic standards. : Lets school districts establish virtual programs and caps enrollment of nonresident students in those programs to 1% of the previous year's total enrollment statewide. It also allows the commissioner of education to grant up to five disaster relief days for each school district. : Requires the Kentucky Department of Education to identify schools for comprehensive support and improvement annually, instead of every three years. : Designates June as "Kentucky History Month." : Requires high school students to take a financial literacy course. : Prevents the state from adopting or enforcing any occupational safety and health administrative regulations that are more strict than federal standards. : Criminalizes interference with a legislative proceeding. The bill is a response to a 2023 protest in the House gallery over anti-trans legislation, during which 19 people were arrested. : Lets universities fire employees, regardless of status, if they fail to meet performance and productivity requirements. : Strikes down Beshear's executive order banning conversion therapy and prohibits Medicaid from funding hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. : Lets law enforcement agencies deny records requests if the release "could pose an articulable risk of harm" to the agency or its investigation. : Requires Medicaid recipients to work in order to receive benefits and prohibits the Department for Medicaid Services from making changes without approval from the General Assembly. : Lets individuals accept cryptocurrency and other digital assets as payment for goods and services. : Changes how Kentucky can lower its income tax, among other measures. : Returns a Ten Commandments monument for display on the Capitol grounds. Reach the Courier Journal politics team at cjpolitics@ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky legislature: These bills are on track to become law in 2025
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Legislators seek to examine Kentucky Medicaid for ways to contain costs
Rep. Adam Bowling, R-Middlesboro, presents legislation aimed at containing Medicaid costs in Kentucky, which he told the House are "just not sustainable," March 4, 2025. (LRC Public Information) FRANKFORT — Medicaid — the federal-state program that provides health care to almost 1.5 million Kentuckians — is on the chopping block in Washington and could soon come under examination in Frankfort. The House has approved creating a 21-member Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board to look for ways to rein in Kentucky Medicaid cost increases. Meanwhile, the Beshear administration would be barred from making any changes to Medicaid eligibility, coverage or benefits in Kentucky without first getting a green light from the General Assembly unless the changes are required by federal law. The House also voted to reinstate prior authorization requirements for Medicaid behavioral health benefits which include treatment for substance use disorder. Rep. Adam Bowling, R-Middlesboro, the sponsor of House Bill 695, said the legislation is necessary because of unsustainable growth in Medicaid's cost. 'Roughly one out of three Kentuckians is currently enrolled in Medicaid. … It's the second largest general fund unit within our state budget. And the growth we are seeing currently is at a rate … it's just not sustainable,' Bowling said. 'So all we are trying to do with House Bill 695 is just stabilize the program, hold it where it is today.' The House approved HB 695 by an 80-19 party line vote on March 4 while Bowling's House Bill 9 creating the oversight board was approved 99-0. Democrats opposed the requirement for prior authorizations to receive mental health care. Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, called it a 'bridge too far.' HB 695 gives the Cabinet for Health and Family Services 90 days after the bill becomes law to 'reinstate all prior authorization requirements for behavioral health services in the Medicaid program that were in place and required' on Jan. 1, 2020. During the House debate, Burke said, 'When someone has made the brave and courageous decision to come to seek mental health treatment, they are often in a position where they need immediate service. And it troubles me to think that we've asked someone who has made that courageous decision to wait and see if their insurance will cover it. Our citizens are already experiencing a mental health epidemic, and we know that prior authorization slows down essential treatment for Kentuckians.' Emily Beauregard, the executive director for Kentucky Voices for Health, opposed the prior authorization requirement during a Feb. 25 committee meeting, saying quick access to mental health care can avert costlier medical crises. 'We know from years of experience that prior authorizations can delay access to behavioral health services for individuals facing an acute need and for conditions like depression, anxiety and substance use disorder, early intervention is crucial to improving health outcomes and reducing the need for higher cost services such as emergency room visits or inpatient hospitalization.' she said. However a group of independent treatment providers supports the reinstatement of prior authorizations, saying they will help ensure that available funds go to help those most in need. John Wilson, president of the Kentucky Association of Independent Recovery Organizations, told the Lantern that 'bad actors' during the COVID-19 pandemic 'exploited the system.' That, he said, led to 'unnecessary services and payments – with little to no respect given to patient care or outcomes.' 'We recognize the additional burden prior authorizations bring to providers, but this important tool to control waste, fraud and abuse has already been reinstituted in other areas of health care,' Wilson said. 'KAIROS believes that reinstituting prior authorizations will ensure that the available funds are spent on those who need it most. In fact, many KAIROS members did not change their own policies and procedures regarding prior authorizations during the suspension and continued to function as though authorizations were still required.' Kentucky Medicaid already has restored some mental prior authorization requirements which were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kendra Steele, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said 'changes were made to specific services and additional changes are on track to be implemented in the near future' following the COVID-induced pause for those prior authorizations. 'When the policy is reinstated, (the Department for Medicaid Services) will work to ensure Medicaid members continue to receive the appropriate level of care needed in a timely manner,' Steele said, adding that the state 'is committed to ensuring health care access for Kentuckians, including access to behavioral health services, counseling and treatment for addiction.' During the Feb. 25 meeting, Rep. Jason Petrie, chairman of the House budget committee, likened HB 695 to a 'type of triage to put a stasis on the program so that it doesn't grow uncontrollably, ineffectively and inefficiently in the very, very short term, until the Medicaid Oversight Advisory Board can get on its feet and start making better make informed policy decisions, along with executive branch and participants in this big program.' The advisory board would be made up of 10 lawmakers (five from the Senate and five from the House) and 11 non lawmakers including the state's chief medical officer, the state auditor, the chair of the Advisory Council for Medical Assistance and others. Its job would be to 'review, analyze, study, evaluate, provide legislative oversight, and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding any aspect of the Kentucky Medicaid program.' Bowling told the committee that HB 9 is 'a good way to get the executive branch, the legislative branch and then stakeholders as well, all at the table, to be able to go through all these issues that have come up surrounding Medicaid.' Bowling pointed out the legislature must 'figure out how to piece the funding' for Medicaid changes made by the administration. 'We want to come together with the executive branch to make sure we have a better idea and we can make more educated decisions about which changes we want to implement and which changes are not in Kentucky's best interest, as we see it,' he said. Medicaid in Kentucky costs taxpayers about $15 billion a year. Most of that money — 70% to 90% — comes from the federal government. Medicaid pays for medical and nursing home care for low income people and people who have disabilities, including 4 in 9 Kentucky children, according to KFF, a nonprofit research organization focused on health care. In Washington, Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky is chairman of a U.S. House committee that's looking for ways to cut $880 billion from the federal budget to pay for extending tax cuts enacted in 2017 — a task that is considered impossible without cutting Medicaid which costs the federal government more than $600 billion a year. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
