July 23--PRESTONSBURG -- The state will hold a public forum Friday afternoon at Big Sandy Community and Technical College to explain the details of the new Kentucky health insurance exchange. The meeting will be the only one of its kind in Eastern Kentucky.

The forum will begin at 1 p.m., Friday, and is expected to last two-and-a-half hours.

The exchange is part of the state's effort to comply with the new health reform law, the Affordable Care Act. Under the act, states are required to establish the exchanges where people making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level can purchase health insurance at a discount through government subsidies. Under one example provided by the government, a family of four making $35,000 a year could obtain health insurance for roughly $100 a month.

Representatives of the state Department of Insurance and Cabinet for Health and Family Services will be at the meeting to explain various aspects of the exchange and the health reform law.

Similar meetings will be held around the state, including in Erlanger, on Wednesday; Louisville, on Thursday; Somerset, on August 1; Paducah, on August 16; and Owensboro, on August 17.

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