(LEX 18) — Former state representative Cherlynn Stevenson, a democrat running for Kentucky's sixth congressional district seat, says she is sounding the alarm about upcoming Medicaid cuts that could impact healthcare access across the state.
During a campaign stop in Richmond on Thursday, Stevenson warned that an estimated 29% of Madison County residents on Medicaid could lose their coverage. Included in that 29% are 11,604 children in Madison County who could lose their healthcare coverage due to cuts recently passed in Congress.
"We should absolutely be making it easier for people to access healthcare, not harder," Stevenson said.
Estimates predict the cuts to force the closure of 35 hospitals across Kentucky—the highest number of any state in the country—which would require many residents to drive hours for medical care.
Stevenson said that from personal experience, she knows that is dangerous in emergency situations.
"When my husband had a pulmonary embolism, we had only minutes to get him to hospital before he would've died. Had we lived further than 10 minutes from a hospital, he would've died on the way to the hospital," Stevenson said.
"Any time that there is an emergency, an accident, a stroke, time away from that hospital is crucial," Stevenson added. "So, the loss of access to care - not just for the people that are going to have their personal Medicaid cut off, but access for an entire community of people who need access quickly - is so concerning. I am so worried that it is going to devastate Kentucky."
According to testimony from the Kentucky Hospital Association president, obstetrics and emergency care are sometimes the first medical services eliminated when hospitals face financial pressure. Stevenson says that is a troubling prospect for a state where healthcare access is already limited.
"Fewer than half of our counties even have an OB-GYN, so if that is one of the first things to go, it's going to be devastating," Stevenson said.
If Central Kentucky sends Stevenson to Congress, what is Stevenson's plan to combat the cuts?
"First thing is I will find anyone - absolutely anyone - who is willing to work with me to stop the bleeding for what is happening. Anybody who is willing to work with me to start trying to roll back some of this," Stevenson said.
Supporters of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, like Congressman Andy Barr who currently holds the seat Stevenson is running for, argue the bill will strengthen Medicaid for Kentuckians who need it.
"We are protecting Medicaid for Kentuckians who need it by ending wasteful spending," Barr posted on X.
