Beshear urges KY insurers not to terminate policies for 23,000 federal workers
Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday urged Kentucky insurance companies to continue insuring federal employees who are struggling to make home, automobile or health insurance premiums due to the federal government shutdown.
According to a 2024 Congressional Research Service study, more than 24,000 people in Kentucky work for the federal government, which has been shut down since Oct. 1.
Many federal employees have not been paid since the middle of October and are struggling to pay bills, including insurance premiums.
“The federal shutdown is having real impacts across our country and our commonwealth,” said Beshear, a Democrat. “As a state, we’re doing what we can to support the more than 23,000 Kentucky families who are experiencing a loss of income through no fault of their own.”
Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Insurance are asking Kentucky insurers to defer termination notices that were issued on or after Oct. 1 due to nonpayment. Insurers are asked to continue coverage for at least 30 more days or 30 days after the end of the federal shutdown, whichever is longer.
Insurers can also extend payment time periods for federal employees, state insurance officials said.
A Kentucky union official with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 616 told the Herald-Leader on Oct. 30 many Transportation Safety Administration employees in Kentucky are taking out loans, considering second jobs and scrambling to cut costs
