Cities and Counties Need Federal Relief to Continue Providing Crucial Services
As with states, local governments in Kentucky and nationwide need significant federal relief if they are to continue providing crucial...
COVID-19
Medicaid Has Responded Quickly to COVID-19, Congress Should Boost Support
In March and April, Medicaid enrollment in Kentucky grew by 67,216, largely in response to COVID-19. This sudden increase in participation is a good sign that Medicaid, as a health...
SNAP Participation Has Jumped Due to COVID-19 Economic Crisis, Helping Blunt the Harm
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation in Kentucky has increased by 110,292 people since social distancing began to reduce transmission of COVID-19. This dramatic 22.9% increase since February reflects the...
To Protect Kentuckians from COVID-19, State Needs to Build on Already Significant Declines in Incarceration
In recent weeks, important steps have been taken to address the public health crisis posed by incarceration in Kentucky’s jails and prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in historic declines...
New Forecast Shows Collapse in State Tax Revenues from COVID-19
Kentucky’s General Fund tax revenues will crater in the coming months due to the COVID-19 downturn, according to a new unofficial forecast released today by the Office of the State...
Nearly One in Three Kentucky Workers May Be Out of a Job
Although March’s official unemployment rate was 5.8%, once the unprecedentedly high volume of unemployment insurance claims made over the last 6 weeks is taken into account, Kentucky’s actual jobless rate...
228,300 Kentuckians Have Likely Lost Health Coverage Since the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the context of unprecedented job loss due to COVID-19, much attention has rightly been paid to the surge in unemployment insurance claims. In Kentucky, unemployment claims have been stacking...
Who Are Kentucky’s Essential Workers on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts all people but creates distinct challenges for the 422,000 Kentuckians working on the frontlines of the response, known as essential workers. Frontline industries – which require...
Kentucky’s Budget Faces Trouble Without More Federal Aid
The severe economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic spells trouble for Kentucky's budget. The state’s resources were already tight before the virus, but the resulting economic collapse will be...
What’s in the CARES Act for Kentucky
Congress has passed and the President has signed a new COVID-19 economic relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Security (CARES) Act. Here are some of its major provisions and...