Kentucky General Assembly claims a bigger say in Medicaid policy
By Samantha Jones with assistance from Alex Smith
Kentucky lawmakers will get expanded authority to review and reject changes to the state's Medicaid program after the General Assembly overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of Senate Bill 173 on April 13. The bill requires that proposed changes to the Medicaid state plan, the document that governs how the program is administered, go through legislative oversight before taking effect.
Beshear vetoed the measure on April 5 after both chambers had cleared it. The Senate had passed SB173 30-6 on March 2. The House followed with a 74-16 vote on March 26. Both chambers came back on April 13 to override the veto, the House 80-19 and the Senate 32-6.
The bill carries an emergency clause and took effect immediately on the override.