Bevin’s campaign demands TV stations take down ad knocking him on health care
Gov. Matt Bevin’s campaign demanded Tuesday that television stations take down a political ad funded by the Democratic Governors Association that accuses Bevin of trying to strip health care coverage from children and people with pre-existing conditions, calling the ad “inaccurate and defamatory.”
The ad shows a man named Hoppy Henton of Versailles criticizing Bevin for “trying to take away health care coverage, including vision and dental from children” and “suing in court to take away protections that people have now for pre-existing conditions.”
“A look at the facts shows that every claim made in this ad is false,” said Davis Paine, Bevin’s campaign manager.
Attorney General Andy Beshear, Bevin’s Democratic opponent, has emphasized health care frequently during his campaign, often criticizing Bevin for his administration’s proposed plan to overhaul Medicaid benefits. The plan would require around 500,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid — those who are “able-bodied” — to work or volunteer and pay premiums to keep their Medicaid coverage. The ad, run by a political action committee called Bluegrass Values, which is funded by the Democratic Governors Association, echoes Beshear’s message from the campaign trail.
The first claim in the ad references a 2018 decision by the Bevin administration to cut vision and dental coverage for around 460,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid after a federal judge ruled against his administration’s plan to overhaul the medicaid system. The cuts did not apply to pregnant women or children.
However, the Courier Journal reported in July 2018 that some children were being turned away by dentists after the computer system mistakenly said their dental coverage had been cut and they couldn’t afford to pay for the services. In Eastern Kentucky, some dentists saw their appointments cut in half.
The Bevin administration quickly changed course and restored dental and vision coverage to the approximately 460,000 people who lost it.
In a news release about the ad, the Bevin campaign ignored the history of the cuts, citing instead a November 2018 letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that said Bevin’s plan did not involve stripping dental and vision benefits from pregnant women and children.
“Beneficiaries receiving state plan benefits will continue to receive covered vision services, dental services, and over-the-counter medications in accordance with the state plan rather than through the My Rewards Account,” the letter says. “In addition, all beneficiaries under 21 years of age receiving services through the demonstration will continue to receive all early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) services.”
Bevin’s campaign also took issue with the claim that a friend-of-the-court brief his administration filed supported taking away protections people have now for pre-existing conditions. Beshear and several other attorneys general filed a lawsuit that challenged a Trump Administration proposal to allow association health plans. The group of attorneys general argue the proposal is intended to undermine the Affordable Care Act.
Association health plans allow groups of people to band together to purchase health care. Association health plans are not allowed to exclude people with pre-existing conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Beshear has said on the campaign trail that association health plans are not required to cover “essential health benefits,” including prescription drugs. He has argued that not covering prescription drugs hurts people with pre-existing, chronic illnesses.