by , @TomLoftus_CJ –

Gov. Matt Bevin announced Wednesday he has begun work to transform Kentucky’s Medicaid program by 2017. But in the meantime he envisions no major changes in the government health plan. (Full press conference)

FRANKFORT, Ky. – On a party line vote with the majority Democrats voting yes, bills that extend the health care exchange and Medicaid expansion initiated by former Gov. Steve Beshear were approved by the House Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday.

And while both bills could yet clear the Democrat-controlled House this session, even the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, acknowledged neither has a hope of passing the Senate where Republicans hold a large majority.

Owens said he filed the bills for the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who he said are benefitting from the online health exchanged known as kynect and from Medicaid expansion.

“It’s important for these people to understand that there are those of us in this legislature who are listening,” Owens said.

House Bill 5 would maintain Kentucky’s online health insurance marketplace known as kynect. And House Bill 6 maintains the expansion of Medicaid and would prohibit the addition of new costs that could be barriers to getting health care to persons covered under Medicaid expansion.

Beshear implemented the policies by executive order under the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin campaigned against Beshear’s health care policies. As governor, he is doing away with and shifting to the federal health care exchange. Bevin is also seeking a waiver from the federal government for how Kentucky runs Medicaid expansion with what he says is a goal of controlling Medicaid’s rising costs to the state.

Most Democratic legislators argue Beshear’s policies have resulted in the provision of health coverage to more than 400,000 Kentuckians for the first time. They say that kynect has been a highly successful exchange that Kentuckians are now familiar with and should not be replaced.

But most Republican legislators solidly support Bevin’s opposition to the Beshear policies.

“I find it to be unsustainable. I don’t think it’s the most effective or efficient system to expand health care – quality health care – to more Kentuckians,” said Rep. Robert Benvenuti, R-Lexington.