Month: February 2013
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House sends Senate pill-mill and Medicaid managed-care fixes
The state House yesterday approved without dissent two bills aimed at improving Kentucky’s health care. House Bill 217 addresses some “unintended consequences” of last year’s “pill mill bill” by easing some of the bills...
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Lack of statewide smoking ban represents one part of Kentucky’s struggle to deal with tobacco use and the health issues it creates
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News As the bill for a statewide smoking ban lies on its deathbed in the General Assembly, new federal data show Kentucky still has the...
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‘Incredible Colon’ to march across the state in Colon Cancer Awareness Month; more than a dozen stops scheduled
A special tour throughout the state of the Incredible Colon — an inflatable model of a human colon, large enough for visitors to walk through it — will promote education...
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Take care with a big cold-weather killer, the space heater
Warm weather isn’t far away, but winter remains, and precautions should be taken to steer clear of a big cold-weather killer — the space heater — for the season’s remaining...
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Bill for statewide smoking ban appears to have been extinguished
The bill to enact a statewide smoking ban in Kentucky appears to be dead for this session of the General Assembly. The House sent House Bill 190 back to committee...
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House panel approves bill easing rules of 2012’s pill-mill bill
They could call it the pill they’re taking to fix the pill-mill bill. A state House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would tweak last year’s legislation aimed at cracking...
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Bill to make Medicaid managed-care firms pay up, and more promptly, nears final form in House and will get attention in Senate
By Molly Burchett and Al Cross Kentucky Health News The complaints by many health-care providers about Medicare managed-care firms’ delay or denial of payment claims appears to be generating a...
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Survey suggests Great Recession has harmed the health of Kentuckians
A recent poll shows continuation of a trend threatening Kentucky’s overall health: as the number of Kentuckians living in poverty goes up, the percentage of adults who report their health...
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Essential-benefits rule expands mental-health and substance-abuse coverage; Ky. needs more facilities to treat newly eligible
The Department of Health and Human Services has defined the 10 “essential health benefits” insurance plans must provide, and it included benefits for mental health and treatment of substance-abuse disorders.. Nearly...
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Medicaid expansion brings primary care access to the forefront
The federal health reform law will usher at least seven million more Americans into Medicaid, and as states like Kentucky debate Medicaid expansion, policymakers are struggling with the question of whether there will...