Author: Al Cross
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New state Medicaid contracts drop Passport and Anthem, which say they will appeal; top Beshear aide voices concern
On its way out, the administration of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has given five health-insurance companies new, five-year deals to manage the care of Kentuckians on Medicaid — and dropped...
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Louisville newspaper tracks huge, powerful and violent drug cartel’s invasion of small towns in Kentucky and other states
Courier Journal illustration shows farm worker who oversaw flow of $30 million in drugs into Kentucky. —– The tentacles of a huge, powerful and violent drug cartel reach from Mexico...
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Report says Kentucky Medicaid could save nearly $240 million by cutting middlemen between drug makers and pharmacists
Kentucky’s Medicaid program could save nearly $240 million a year by eliminating pharmacy benefit managers and returning to its old “fee for service” system of reimbursing pharmacists for each prescription,...
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Employer-sponsored insurance health plans in Ky. more costly in 2018; high premiums and deductibles leave many underinsured
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A recent analysis by The Commonwealth Fund, a foundation interested in the health-care system, shows that the overall cost of employer-sponsored insurance plans keeps going up, and...
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Words matter when writing about addiction, and wrong words increase stigma that impedes recovery; speakers offer advice
Bishop Nash and Lyn O’Connell speaking in Ashland Nov. 15 at “Covering Substance Abuse and Recovery: A Workshop for Journalists” —– By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News ASHLAND, Ky. —...
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Kentucky offers free service to help teens quit vaping and smoking; Courier Journal reports on how few teen options exist
In an effort to help teenagers stop vaping, the Kentucky Department for Public Health has launched a free service called “My Life, My Quit.” The service allows teens who want to quit...
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Ky. has improved on several measures of children’s health, but some counties continue to lag far behind and get worse
Terry Brooks (Kentucky Youth Advocates photo) —– By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Almost one in four Kentuckians are children. How goes their health? Most have health insurance, fewer teenagers are...
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Pushback makes Trump back off electronic-cigarette flavor ban
(Photo: Dylan Hollingsworth, Bloomberg News) —– President Trump has decided not to go through with the ban on electronic-cigarette flavors that he announced more than two months ago, report Josh Dawsey and Laurie...
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‘Stop using this criminal-justice hammer to address a public-health nightmare,’ state justice and public safety secretary says of drugs
Justice Secretary John Tilley at workshop —– By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News ASHLAND, Ky. – At a day-long workshop for journalists on covering substance abuse and recovery, state Justice...
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March of Dimes gives Ky. D-minus for high rate of pre-term births; maternal deaths spike; new collaborative will work on such issues
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Childbirth, which should be one of life’s most joyous occasions, has become more deadly for Kentucky mothers, and remains problematic for many Kentucky babies...