By Arthur Allen, Rachana Pradhan and David Hilzenrath
KFF Health News
The Biden administration has picked the first 10 high-priced prescription drugs subject to federal price negotiations, taking a swipe at the powerful pharmaceutical industry. It marks a major turning point in a long-fought battle to control ever-rising drug prices for seniors and, eventually, other Americans.
Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Congress gave the federal...
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Feds call for first nursing-home staffing minimums, but proposed regulation is weaker than the nursing-home industry expected
Federal officials' proposed minimum standards for nursing-home staffing are weaker than expected, Bridget Early reports for Inside Health Policy.
The nursing-home industry had anticipated a proposal for about 4.1 hours of employee work time per resident day, meaning that a home with 25 residents would require 18 staffers (times 4.1 hours per resident day = 175 hours per week, divided by 40 hours per week = 17.9 employees).
Instead, Early...
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Clinic that serves 33 Ky. counties is first in state to get a grant from program for comprehensive drug treatment and recovery
Owensboro Hope House is one of MCCC's facilities.
Kentucky Health News
A behavioral-health clinic that serves 33 Kentucky counties is the first in the state to receive a grant from a national program that fosters comprehensive drug treatment and recovery centers with a full spectrum of treatment, harm reduction, and...
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
One-fourth of Kentuckians say they have ever been diagnosed with depression; only W.Va. was higher in national CDC survey
Centers for Disease Conrol and Prevention map, adapted by Kentucky Health News
By Al CrossKentucky Health News
One in four Kentucky adults in a poll taken in 2020 said they had ever been diagnosed with depression, a higher share than in any state but West Virginia.
Kentucky's age-adusted percentage was 25%; West...
Study expands access to naloxone, which blocks drug overdose
The study includes distribution of naloxoone (brand name
Narcan) at public events. (University of Kentucky photo)
By Elizabeth ChapinUniversity of Kentucky
Thursday, Aug. 31, marks International Overdose Awareness Day, a time when attention is directed toward raising awareness about opioid overdose and ways to reverse...
Monday, August 28, 2023
Attacking respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on 3 fronts: Monoclonal antibodies for infants, vaccines for pregnant women and elderly
By Dr. Ilhem MessaoudiUniversity of Kentucky
After an intense season of respiratory syncytial virus in the commonwealth, we have a new tool to protect children from RSV.
In July 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AstraZeneca’s Beyfortus (nirsevimab-alip) for the prevention of RSV lower respiratory tract...
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Chronic absenteeism in Ky. schools was 28% of students last year, up from 18% before the pandemic, but now at national mean
By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News
Twenty-eight percent of students in Kentucky schools were chronically absent from classes during the last academic year, compared to 18 percent in the 2018-19 school year, according to a national study done at Stanford University with the help of The Associated Press.
But Kentucky's increase...
Community professionals who work with Kynect have a new online resource to connect them with resources and each other
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
A new website called KyLoop has launched to provide an online connection space for community professionals who work in outreach and enrollment through Kynect, the state's health insurance website that also provides help with food, cash and childcare assistance and employee child care...
State, advocates try to keep eligible people on Medicaid
State employees staffed a booth at the Kentucky State Fair to help people understand Medicaid changes and how to apply for the program or other coverage. (Ky. Lantern photo by Deborah Yetter)
By Deborah Yetter
Kentucky LanternSome patients find out they’ve been dropped from Medicaid when they come in to pick up a...
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Small 'summer spike' in Covid-19 cases in Kentucky attributable to a slightly more contagious strain; new shot recommended
People who last got a Covid vaccine last fall are starting to
see waning protection. (Getty Images photo via Kentucky Lantern)
By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
The “vast majority” of Kentucky’s Covid-19 cases are now the variant EG.5 – also known as “Eris” – according to Louisville infectious disease expert Dr. Mark...
Friday, August 25, 2023
Free-market economist says certificates of need shouldn't be required for health facilities; hospitals, nursing homes disagree
John Garen (Lantern screenshot of KET legislative video)
By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
Kentucky would be “well served by the improved access to health care” if it were to repeal its certificate-of-need laws, a retired economics professor told a legislative task force charged with examining the state’s CON structure.
University...
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Schools in Lee, Magoffin close due to Covid-19, other illnesses
Magoffin County Schools were empty Thursday, and were to be closed again Friday. (WKYT image)
The predicted "summer surge" of Covid-19 has been relatively small, but large enough in some Kentucky school districts to make them suspend classes.
Magoffin County schools closed Thursday and Friday, and Lee County schools also...
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Kentucky is next to last in currency of nursing-home inspections, and it may not have hit bottom yet, health officials tell legislators
Kentucky is farther behind on nursing-home inspections than only one other state, and the huge backlog might last a long time, Beshear administration officials state officials warned a legislative committee Tuesday. That could leave health and safety problems undiscovered, reports John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
“We’re...
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Cancer survivors in Appalachian Kentucky have greater risk of 2nd cancer than those in non-Appalachian counties, study finds
Cancer ribbons (Photo by Panuway Dansungnoen,
iStock/Getty Images Plus)
By Elizabeth Chapin
University of Kentucky
While cancer survivors have an increased risk of developing cancer in the future, that risk is notably higher in Kentucky and Appalachian Kentucky, according to a new UK Markey Cancer Center study.
Published...
Relatively few Americans put significant trust in any health institution or media to be accurate about health topics, poll finds
By Darius Tahir
KFF Health News
Around 3 in 10 Americans still believe ivermectin, a dewormer for animals, is an effective treatment for Covid-19. And few of them place significant trust in any form of news media or official institution to accurately convey information about health topics, from covid treatments and vaccines to reproductive health issues. So says a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent source of health-policy...
More than 1/3 of U.S. heart-attack and stroke survivors don't take aspirin to prevent a second one, 40 years after it was first advised
People who have experienced a heart attack or stroke have prevented another one from happening by taking a daily aspirin. But fewer than half of heart attack or stroke victims worldwide take the inexpensive medication, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Survivors of heart attacks and...
Sunday, August 20, 2023
New vaccines being released next month for Covid-19, the flu and RSV are expected to curb ever-mutating respiratory viruses
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health photo
Kentucky Health News
Americans will have access to several vaccines this fall to protect them against respiratory viruses, including Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but effectively deploying them is expected to be challenging and confusing.
With...
Breaking the stigma: ADHD can make rejection feel even worse
Joshua Claytor lives with ADHD. (Photo via Kentucky Lantern)
By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
Sitting in high school classes was “always a struggle” for a young Joshua Claytor. He filled his papers with “doodles.” Certain math concepts eluded his understanding.
Despite these early signs, it took the Vine Grove man...
