By Linda Blackford | Editor
There was lots of tit-for-tatting this week in Frankfort, with political games being played over a topic that is anything but playful – Medicaid cuts for services that help Kentucky’s most vulnerable.
What else? A mystery civics center at UK, the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling on executive power, a new lawsuit over prediction market companies, and a re-election campaign.
This weekend, flooding swept through the state, leading the governor to declare a state of emergency. The Lantern will be following what happens next.
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Kentucky advocates came to Frankfort to ask elected officials to find a way to keep Lee Specialty Clinic open despite recent budget cuts that caused them to discharge more than 1,000 patients. June 24, 2026. (Sarah Ladd/Kentucky Lantern )
By Sarah Ladd
Gov. Andy Beshear is moving $4.5 million from a Capitol Annex renovation project to fully fund Lee Specialty Clinic in Louisville through this fiscal year.
Beshear announced the decision a day after hundreds came to Frankfort and pleaded with Kentucky leaders to find a way to work with each other and fund the clinic, which has discharged more than 1,000 patients and lost 83% of its staff because of funding cuts.
Kentucky advocates came to Frankfort to ask elected officials to find a way to keep Lee Specialty Clinic open despite recent budget cuts that caused them to discharge more than 1,000 patients. June 24, 2026. (Sarah Ladd/Kentucky Lantern)
COMMENTARY
By Paige Rayburn
Whether this situation is the result of years of financial mismanagement, unavoidable budget pressures, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: the people paying the price are not the ones who made those decisions. They are the people who rely on Medicaid every single day to remain healthy, independent, and connected to their communities.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
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