Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky is dismantling the state’s highly successful exchange on which people buy private health insurance policies or enroll in Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. His shortsighted and pointless show of defiance against the Obama administration’s health care reforms could harm thousands of people in Kentucky, who may fall between the cracks as the state shifts their coverage from its own exchange, known as Kynect, to the federally run exchange at HealthCare.gov.

If Mr. Bevin, a Republican, wanted to take a stand against cooperation with the federal government, he picked an odd way to do it. He is shutting down an independent state program and turning instead to the federal government to run the exchange. While the federal website appears to be working well, the transition to a different system could cause problems.

Image Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky Credit... Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

The Kentucky exchange has made it extremely easy for people to enroll in a plan appropriate for them. If someone tries to sign up for private insurance but is judged by the exchange to be poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, the application is forwarded to Medicaid, which enrolls the person. If someone tries to sign up for Medicaid but is deemed ineligible by that program, the application is forwarded to the exchange for enrollment.