Reversal: Kentucky Restoring Medicaid Benefits for Thousands

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Dental and vision care benefits will be restored for hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients in a sudden reversal by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's administration following an outcry over the recent cuts.

The coverage had been abruptly cut at the start of July after a federal judge rejected the Republican governor's plan to overhaul Kentucky's Medicaid program. The cuts triggered stinging criticism from Democrats and public health advocates.

The sudden about-face was announced late Thursday by the state's Cabinet for Health and Family Services and was welcomed by the administration's critics.

"This was poor policy from the very beginning," said Sheila Schuster, a longtime Kentucky advocate for the disabled and people without health coverage.