Author: Melissa Patrick
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Bluegrass Family Health changes name to Baptist Health Plan
Bluegrass Family Health, the insurance arm of Baptist Health, is changing its name to Baptist Health Plan. This change will make the Lexington-based health insurance carrier, which has offered insurance...
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Louisville’s PharMerica is still a defendant in federal cases in which big drug makers have paid billions in fines
Abbott Laboratories has paid billions, and Amgen Inc. has paid millions, in fines for offering “rebates” or “kickbacks” to get pharmacy companies to increase their prescriptions of drugs in nursing...
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Many Americans still don’t use sunscreen, which has been proven to prevent skin cancer, the most common cancer in the U.S.
Sunscreen has been proven to reduce the risk for all types of skin cancer and to prevent or delay signs of aging, but most Americans still don’t use it regularly,...
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Congress is taking on opoid abuse and the nationwide increase in drug overdoses
Federal officials have become increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in drug overdoses across the country. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a series of hearings on the topic,...
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Deep in the brain may lie the secret of why some smokers quit easily and some find it nearly impossible
When a person tries to quit smoking, the cravings, headaches and lethargy that come from the nicotine withdrawal makes it near impossible for many to be successful. But this lack...
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One of every three U.S. adults have a combination of risk factors that increase their risk for heart disease and diabetes
More than one-third of adults in the U.S. have a combination of health conditions that put them at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, and this condition affects nearly...
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Regan Hunt, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, leaves for a new position at insurer Humana Inc.
The executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health, a group that worked for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is now working for Humana Inc. as...
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CDC says SOAR should focus on substance abuse, obesity and diabetes; idea of mountaintop mining study is largely ignored
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Shaping Our Appalachian Region, the bipartisan effort to revitalize and diversify Eastern Kentucky’s economy, will focus its health efforts on substance abuse, obesity and...
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Law requires equal access to mental-health and drug-abuse treatment, but is not always obeyed; Ky. says it’s working on issue
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News By law, mental health benefits must be offered equally to medical and surgical benefits if the plan offers them, but this isn’t always the...
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Louisville elementaries part of ‘up to date’ health curriculum study
Jefferson County Public Schools have partnered with researchers at the University of Virginia to study how integrating bi-weekly health and wellness instruction into its elementary curriculum will affect students over...