Kentucky in the News: Kynect Enrollment

On April 22nd, Governor Steve Beshear announced that nearly 1 in 10 Kentuckians (413,410) had enrolled in Kynect (Kentucky’s state-based health benefit exchange).  Enrollment took place during the health exchange’s first open period, which ended on March 31.  Seventy-five percent of the enrollees were previously uninsured.   In response to the statistics released regarding Kynect, Beshear stated “From the beginning, I knew that Kynect would change the course of Kentucky’s history by helping hundreds of thousands of Kentucky families, and I’ve never wavered in my support.”

Geographic issues like socioeconomics, environmental variability, and infrastructure development can be used to explain some of the patterns displayed in the map above.  What other factors do you believe play a role in this enrollment pattern?  The Kentucky Geographic Alliance is interested in your constructive opinion and has created a blog for your comments.

The next open enrollment period for Kynect begins November 15. After the success of the first open enrollment, Governor Beshear expects that Kynect numbers will continue to grow as more Kentuckians become aware of the program.