Month: March 2011
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County health rankings in Kentucky show few changes, but ranks are less important than the trove of data they reflect
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News The health evaluation tool that calls itself “the annual check-up of over 3,000 counties in the nation” was released today, showing little change from last...
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Feds say they will post data on performance of dialysis centers
“Federal regulators say they are moving to make once-confidential data about the performance of kidney dialysis clinics more readily available to the public,” reports Robin Fields of ProPublica, the nonprofit,...
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People with low health literacy are more likely to get sick, die
Health literacy rates are increasingly gaining the attention of providers, organizations and lawmakers. A new report based on study of medical literature says people who are unable to understand and act on issues...
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Rural hospitals in Kentucky say health reform will hurt them
Though the new national health-care law may increase the number of insured Americans by 32 million, rural hospitals in Kentucky aren’t expecting a revenue windfall. That’s because half of the...
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More N. Ky. kids taken from homes due to parents’ drug use
An increasing number of children in Greater Cincinnati are being taken from their homes because their parents are drug users. In Campbell County, Kentucky, 68 children were removed from their...
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Providers recommend restricting 3 cancer drugs in Medicaid
In an effort to save money, health officials are considering a move that would restrict three cancer drugs for the 800,000 Kentuckians who are enrolled in Medicaid. Patients could still...
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Health literacy is ‘at a tipping point’ as an issue to be confronted, federal official tells second Kentucky Health Literacy Summit
By Tara Kaprowy, Kentucky Health News BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The idea that people will be healthier if they can better navigate the boggy, confusing landscape of health care and...
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Annual county health rankings will be released Wednesday
The national County Health Rankings for 2011 will be released Wednesday, March 30. The rankings give a snapshot view of every county in the nation by examining factors such as rates...
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Communities, crusaders for smoking bans honored at ceremony
The Bullitt County Health Department, the City of Bowling Green and the 2010 edition of the Campbell County Fiscal Court won 2011 Smoke-free Indoor Air Excellence awards from the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free...
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Beshear will use line-item veto on Medicaid bill to remove mandatory cuts in other state programs and school funding
Democrats appear to have prevailed in the State Capitol battle over the budget and Medicaid. (Update, March 25: Beshear issued the vetoes.) After the Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget fix...