Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Beshear wasting $4.2 million ObamaCare grant

Kentucky's Department of Insurance is ignoring multiple open records requests for 2014 individual market health insurance rates under ObamaCare despite accepting more than $4.2 million in federal grant money over the last three years to improve transparency of the rate review process.

In fact, a federal grant application summary from 2011 promises "(t)he State will also enhance its website further to allow consumers access to rate filings without going through the open records process."

Employers and insurance brokers around the state report group health premium rates almost doubling from 2013 to 2014 with ObamaCare taking effect, an unprecedented explosion in health insurance costs.

According to the Department of Insurance web site, all the health plans set to participate in the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange individual market had their rates approved in August.

The incompetence and fraud on display at the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the lack of media coverage of same is easily the biggest political scandal of 2013 in the state. A functioning Republican Party would be all over this.