Category: HEALTH POLICY
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Scorecard ranks Kentucky’s health system 40th; bright spot is health insurance; biggest increasing problem is drug overdoses
Chart by The Commonwealth Fund, which explains: (a) The 2019 rankings generally reflect 2017 data. (b) Comparisons are with a “baseline” period, which varies among the measured indicators. The report says, “There were generally...
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Medicare cuts 19 Kentucky hospitals 1% for patient-safety issues; two in Louisville have been been penalized five years straight
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo —– The federal government is penalizing 19 Kentucky hospitals, nine more than last year, for falling short on patient safety in the fiscal...
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UK nurse creates Farm Dinner Theater as a way to remind farmers of safe practices; has some unexpected benefits
A University of Kentucky nursing professor has come up with a novel way to remind farmers about farm safety: dinner theater. At Farm Dinner Theater, farmers watch each other perform funny skits...
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Foundation says its 6-year, 7-county effort to help communities tackle health issues can be a model for the rest of the state
Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky map of recently finished “Investing in Kentucky’s Future” program —– If more Kentucky communities tackled their health issues as communities, the overall health of the...
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Study: Private insurance pays hospitals 241% more than Medicare (186% in Kentucky); suggests shift to a Medicare model
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News As health-care costs continue to rise for both employers and employees, one group of researchers says private insurers should move away from how they...
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Valerie Horn of Whitesburg is latest Healthy Ky. Policy Champion, for increasing access to healthy foods in Letcher County
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has named Valerie Horn, a retired school counselor from Whitesburg who helps low-income residents in Letcher County gain access to healthier foods, as the latest Healthy...
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As health departments face crippling pension costs, unless lawmakers intervene, health boss promotes a new model for them
Without a reprieve from pension-contribution rules, 42 county health departments will close in the next year, and 22 more will the following year, says the Department of Public Health, which...
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Medicare-Medicaid agency’s annual ratings of 94 Ky. hospitals gives the lowest score to six; only one got the highest ranking
Screenshot of Medicare’s Hospital Compare website —– The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released its Overall Hospital Star Ratings for 2019, which offer a snapshot of the quality of the hospitals...
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Pineville hospital is cut off by Medicare and Medicaid, which in 2015 accounted for 93% of its patient days; city seeking rescue
A temporary banner, using the typeface of Americore Health, is draped over the sign for Pineville Community Hospital. (Photo by Anthony Cloud, Middlesboro Daily News) —– The federal government has cut...
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Kentucky Hospital Association asks federal appeals court to uphold state plan for work rules in Medicaid
The Kentucky Hospital Association has filed a formal statement with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking it to uphold the state’s proposed work and other “community engagement”...