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There is no longer any question that Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky plans to shut down the health insurance exchange his state built to enroll residents for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Now that he has notified the Obama administration of his intention to do so, the question is, will it change the law’s substantial impact there? It is hard to predict, partly because what Mr. Bevin is doing is without precedent. While a few states have been forced to largely rely on the federally run exchange after their own versions failed, Kentucky will be the first to abandon a homegrown exchange that functions well. (Goodnough, 1/13)

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s plan to eliminate the state’s health insurance exchange will diminish the level of enrollment support for low-income residents, who used it to sign up by the thousands for coverage under the 2010 federal health care law, according to the system’s advocates. Bevin told federal officials in a Dec. 30 letter that the state intends to drop its exchange, Kynect, and have its residents use Healthcare.gov, the federal health exchange, to sign up for insurance. Bevin’s office provided no details about the timing of the transition, but said there will be no impact on Kentuckians’ ability to obtain or continue health care coverage for the 2016 plan year. (Evans, 1/14)