Kentucky Democrats begin Medicaid tour in Hazard, spotlighting addiction recovery

HAZARD, Ky. (FOX 56) — Kentucky Democrats are warning that changes to Medicaid will have some of the biggest impacts in Eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) leaders chose Hazard as the site to launch a media tour with local voices to sound off their worries that reductions to the program could have consequences, even as far as rolling back the region’s progress in fighting addiction.

“A cut like this could be just as impactful or worse than the decline of the coal economy,” Perry County Democratic Party chair Zack Hall said Thursday.

The president’s budget reconciliation bill was signed into law just over a month ago, and in the time since, impacted organizations are growing their concerns about what’s to come.

“We just don’t know yet,” Greg Burke said. Burke is executive director of the addiction recovery group Beacons of Hope.

Despite the reduction to Medicaid spending not taking effect until 2027, Burke said the center is already looking at ways it can reduce potential barriers that come up. He said about 99% of those that come to the Beacons of Hope are able to through Medicaid.

“No one talks about all the extra stuff that we’re doing because of funding of Medicaid. We use that to get them their education. We use that to teach them the life skills they need so they can get a job and they can get a home,” he said. “We have no other options here in eastern Kentucky. We haven’t invested in the economy the way we should have to be able to get people the high, good-paying jobs and turn around to get them off Medicaid. Without Medicaid, Eastern Kentucky would end up being a ghost town.”

From here, Kentucky Democrats plan to continue their media tour statewide, with a stop next week in Louisville on maternal health. As of this story’s publishing, FOX 56 has not received a statement from the Republican Party of Kentucky on the launch of the Medicaid tour.