Category: YOUR HEALTH
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Nursing homes say Ky. has highest malpractice insurance costs and needs lawsuit review panels to keep providers and facilities
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The state’s nursing-home lobby is renewing its effort to get legislative insulation from lawsuits, a prospect that could improve if Republicans control the state...
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State settles dispute with former Medicaid managed-care company, will get $7.5 million from former actuarial firm
The state and St. Louis-based Centene Corp. have settled their lawsuits and other disputes stemming from the 2013 departure of Centene’s Kentucky Spirit Health Plan from the state Medicaid managed-care...
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Increasing Kentucky’s cigarette tax by $1.50 a pack would decrease youth smoking, Cancer Society lobbyist writes
To decrease youth smoking in the state, the Kentucky director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is calling for an increase of $1.50 per pack of cigarettes and all...
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First day of open enrollment on federal health-insurance exchange got off to a rough start for some Kentuckians
The first day of open enrollment to sign up for health insurance on the federal health exchange, Nov. 1, got off to a rough start for some Kentuckians. Sharon Bush,...
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Noted heart surgeon found guilty of health care fraud; exaggerated patient conditions to get Medicare payments
Dr. Richard Paulus (Ashland Independent photo) In the latest judgment of health-care fraud in Kentucky, a well-respected cardiologist in Ashland was found guilty last week of performing unnecessary heart procedures...
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Opioid epidemic has increased number of grandparents raising grandchildren; 21 percent in U.S. are in poverty
An increasing number of grandparents are raising their grandchildren, largely because many of the children’s parents are addicted to heroin or prescription drugs, both increasing problems in rural areas, Teresa...
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Nationally, poisonings of youth from opioids rose 165% from 1997 to 2012, 205% among those aged 1 to 4
More than 13,000 Americans age 19 and under were hospitalized for opioid poisonings from 1997 to 2012, says a study at the Yale School of Medicine, published in JAMA Pediatrics. The...
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Nonprofit grades hospitals on patient safety; the 52 ranked in Ky. improved slightly, but the state still ranks relatively low
By Traci Thomas Kentucky Health News A nonprofit group that rates hospitals released its patient-safety scores Monday, giving most Kentucky hospitals a ‘B’ or ‘C’. The scores are similar to...
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Friedell Committee hears focus should be on prevention programs, community strategies and community partnerships
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – Seventy percent of the influence on our health comes from our own behaviors and the environment. So, plans to improve Kentucky’s...
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State sues failed Kentucky Health Cooperative’s former chief executive board and contractors, alleging mismanagement
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News The former president and directors of the Kentucky Health Cooperative, created under federal health reform, are facing a lawsuit from the...