Bernie Sanders: Here's why I chose Covington for health-care rally
Updated 6:10 p.m. ET July 7, 2017
Excerpt:
Sanders, I-Vt., told The Enquirer he chose the convention center in Covington for a pro-Affordable Care Act rally on Sunday for multiple reasons. The "Care Not Cuts" rally in Covington is part of Sanders' tour of states controlled by Republicans. It's clear Sanders wanted to send a message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his home state.
"There's no state in America that would be harder hit by McConnell's legislation than the state of Kentucky," Sanders said.
Kentucky had the most success of any state under the Affordable Care Act, Sanders said. Former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, in 2012-2013 expanded Medicaid and implemented a health-care exchange called kynect, allowing more than 500,000 Kentuckians to gain health insurance. Current Republican Gov. Matt Bevin is shutting down kynect and is seeking federal approval to make Medicaid a more limited program with cost-sharing and reduced health services.
Covington's location on the border of Ohio also made it ideal. "We're concerned about both states," Sanders said. "We'd love to have as many people from Kentucky coming out as well as the Cincinnati area."
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/07/07/bernie-sanders-heres-why-chose-covington-health-care-rally/460269001/
