Month: February 2017
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Newspapers big and small tackle Kentucky’s opioid epidemic
The opioid epidemic, and the growing concern about stronger and more lethal painkillers, is getting plenty of coverage by major news outlets in Kentucky, one of the states most troubled...
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As Republicans wait to address Obamacare, Democrats and supporters of the law appear to gain new footing
This story has been updated. “Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare could help Democrats do what they have been unable to for seven years: sell the American people on the benefits...
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Bill to ban tobacco products from school property and activities heads to full Senate after change to satisfy school officials
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – The idea of a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces has hit roadblocks in the General Assembly, but a bill to...
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Pharmacies dispensing opioids thrive in Clay County, which leads Kentucky in doses of hydrocodone per person: 150 a year
Pharmacies dispensing opioids are thriving in an impoverished, coal-depressed county in Eastern Kentucky, Phil Galewitz reports for Kaiser Health News. In Clay County (Wikipedia map) the unemployment rate is 8.4 percent,...
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Most adults on Medicaid qualify because Ky. expanded program; at risk as Republicans in Congress work to replace Obamacare
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News More than three-fourths of Kentucky adults on Medicaid were eligible only because Kentucky expanded its Medicaid program in 2014, according to a study done...
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Dr. David Stevens of Lexington, who led successful effort for Kentucky’s first local-government smoking ban, dies at 87
Dr. David Stevens (Lexington Herald-Leader photo) Dr. David Stevens, a retired orthopedic surgeon who was instrumental in getting a smoking ban in Lexington, died Monday at age 87. Stevens, a...
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Illnesses and possible flu outbreaks close schools for the week
Several counties throughout Kentucky have closed schools for the remainder of the week due to multiple illnesses “in response to what public health officials are calling a possible flu outbreak...
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Liberal group’s study says Obamacare repeal without replacement would cost the state jobs in 2019
Repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would not only take away health insurance from thousands of Kentuckians, but would also cause the state to lose about 55,949 jobs...
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Most Kentuckians support raising the age to buy tobacco to 21; studies say this would decrease youth and adult smoking rates
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News If increasing the minimum legal age from 18 to 21 to buy tobacco products would help decrease the smoking rate in Kentucky and the...
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Comparing national ratings that compare Kentucky hospitals
A federal agency, magazines and a consulting group have compiled ratings that allow comparison of hospitals. Now Dr. Kevin Kavanagh of Somerset-based Health Watch USA has compiled the ratings, allowing...