Month: February 2019
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Bill to raise legal age to buy tobacco products to 21 fails on 4-6 committee vote; bill’s effectiveness questioned, called ‘PR move’
Sen. Steve Meredith, middle, with Altria Vice President David Fernandez, right, and Juul Labs lobbyist Jennifer Cunningham on his bill to raise the legal age for buying tobacco products. (Photo: Adam Beam, The Associated Press)...
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Ambulance runs for rural patients are 76% longer when their hospital closes, and for seniors, it’s 98% longer, study finds
When a rural hospital closes, it’s logical to assume that patients in its former service area will spend more time in ambulances getting to an emergency room farther away. A University...
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Report on Medicaid pharmacy managers confirms they make a profit at the expense of pharmacies; calls for new payment model
Sen. Max Wise has been outspoken in his criticism of pharmacy benefit managers. A “long-awaited state report” on how pharmacy benefit managers are paid seems to confirm the suspicion that...
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Tobacco-free schools bill is in trouble in the House; sponsor, a Republican, can’t get enough of her party’s members to be for it
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to make all Kentucky school properties and events tobacco-free is in trouble in the state House, prompting advocates to mount a rescue...
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Ky. officials rejected infectious-disease chief’s plea to move faster against hepatitis A outbreak, now nation’s largest and deadliest
As part of a package of stories about Kentucky’s hepatitis A outbreak, which is the “worst this century, sickening nearly 4,100 and killing 40,” Laura Ungar and Chris Kenning of...
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Poll finds those with dental insurance are more likely to visit the dentist, and insurance often depends on income
Nearly 60 percent of Kentucky adults saw a dentist in the past year, but 26 percent said they delayed dental care because it cost too much, according to the latest...
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Apply by March 1 for expenses-paid rural-health fellowship to attend Association of Health Care Journalists conference
The Association of Health Care Journalists is offering fellowships to attend its May 2-5 conference in Baltimore, including one for reporters and editors working in rural towns and counties or who work for...
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Policy can often improve a state’s health more than healthcare; report offers 13 policies known to work, Ky only does 6
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Improving a state’s health outcomes and lowering healthcare costs often has less to do with health care and more to do with implementing a...
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Lobbyists create tracking tables that make it easier to keep up with bills; legislature also offers free ‘Bill Watch’ service
As the 2019 General Assembly moves into the second half of its session, it can be easy to lose track of the many health-related bills, but a contract lobbying group...
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U of L publicly seeks partner to buy Jewish Hospital and affiliates
Map from U of L request for proposals for joint venture involving facilities of KentuckyOne Health — The University of Louisville has gone public with its search for a partner to buy Jewish Hospital and its...