Month: March 2019
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House sends tobacco-free schools bill to Senate with three days left in session, minimum needed for passage; backers have hope
Rep. Kim Moser — By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to make all Kentucky public schools and events tobacco-free passed the state House overwhelmingly Tuesday, but with just three...
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Thinking About Health column: Seniors have until March 31 to change options for Medicare or Medicare Advantage
By Trudy Lieberman, Rural Health News Service Solicitations for Medicare Advantage plans once again have been arriving in the mail, promising the best bargain since sliced bread. A case in...
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Rural residents appear less likely to use electronic health records, Indiana study finds; lack of broadband is one reason
Telemedicine, including online health records, is touted as a way to improve rural health. However, rural residents are less likely to use such technology, according to a study of 34...
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As vaccination rates decline in Kentucky and elsewhere, Facebook says it will act against anti-vaccine misinformation
Photo from Livestrong.com — Amid growing concern about declining vaccination rates in some states, including Kentucky, Facebook says anti-vaccine misinformation “will appear less frequently across people’s News Feeds, public pages and groups, private...
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Outlook seems bleak for Passport Health Plan, only nonprofit among five companies than manage Medicaid for the state
The state’s only nonprofit Medicaid manager, Passport Health Plan, is “facing extinction” unless it gets a favorable court ruling or more help from the state, Passport CEO Mark Carter told Boris...
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Ban on tobacco use in schools still alive; may pass House with measure raising to 21 legal age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes; question may be ‘coming to terms’ with agricultural community
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News With just three days left to pass bills, lawmakers in the state House are still working on measures that would protect...
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Ky. vax rates for HPV, which causes cancer, rose last year but still lag rest of nation; ‘Parents feel their children will always be angels’
“Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the nation . . . but Kentucky children remain among the least vaccinated in the U.S.,” Caroline Eggers reports for the Bowling Green...
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Courier Journal examination of Ky. hospitals’ childbirth-complication rates show some ARH hospitals fare poorly; Harlan’s rate is off the chart
“Where a woman delivers her baby in Kentucky can determine whether she is seriously injured in childbirth, and even whether she lives or dies,” Laura Ungar reports for the Louisville Courier Journal and USA Today....
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House committee strongly endorses medical marijuana, but time and the Senate stand in the way, in a session about to end
Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville (LRC Public Information photo) — With a resounding 16-1 vote, a House committee approved a bill Wednesday to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, but it seems unlikely...
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Kentuckians use too many antibiotics; we’re No. 1 in the nation, and a campaign has started to reduce inappropriate use
Kentucky has the highest rate of antibiotic use in the United States, and the University of Louisville School of Medicine is trying to do something about it. The school’s Department of Pediatrics has mounted...