Kynect website opens Wednesday, Nov. 1, for shopping and enrollment in federally subsidized health-insurance plans

Kynect home page Kentuckians can shop and enroll for federally subsidized health-insurance coverage on the state-based marketplace, Kynect, starting Wednesday, Nov. 1. Enrollment will be open through Jan. 16. Coverage for those who sign up on or before Dec. 15 will start Jan. 1, 2024. Those who sign up in the following...

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UK will study the effects of newly prevalent drug xylazine ('tranq')

Terry Hinds Jr. and Cassandra Gipson-Reichardt (UK photo by Mark Cornelison) By Elizabeth Chapin University of Kentucky Two University of Kentucky researchers have received a $2.65 million federal grant to study how the brain is changed by the mixture of fentanyl and xylazine, a veterinary anesthetic commonly referred...

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Sugar season has started, so brush your teeth twice a day, floss daily, and drink plenty of water, UK dental-school dean advises

Photo illustration by Viktoriia Hnatiuk, iStock/Getty Images Plus By Jeff Okeson, D.M.D. Professor and dean, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry From Halloween through New Year's, holiday parties and family events are filled with gifts and delicious treats. Kids go trick-or-treating, pies are baked and cookies...

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Flu and RSV cases increasing in Kentucky, but Covid-19 cases are still by far the leader in lab tests and emergency-room visits

Kentucky Health News The state Department for Public Health's weekly Respiratory Virus Update, released Thursday, Oct. 26 showed that Covid-19 activity was moderate, and influenza and respiratory syncytial virus activity was low but increasing, and hospitalizations for all three infectious respiratory diseases remained...

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A Covid-19 reporter gets the disease, and learns some lessons

Sarah Ladd took this photo of herself as she suffered from Covid-19. By Sarah Ladd Kentucky Lantern For more than three years, I’ve written about Covid-19. The people who caught it and those who kept it longer than they should have. The people who bought into misinformation. And, worst of all, those who died from...

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Kentucky Health Commissioner Steven Stack is the new president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Gov. Andy Beshear listened as Dr. Steven Stack spoke during a pandemic press conference. (Photo by Matt Stone, Courier Journal) Dr. Steven J. Stack, commissioner of the state Department for Public Health, is the new president of the the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Stack has been state health...

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Cameron, other attorneys general sue Meta, accusing Facebook and Instagram of purposely harming mental health of youth

Attorney General Daniel Cameron is among a large, bipartisan group of attorneys general suing Meta, the parent firm of social-media platforms Facebook and Instagram, for purposefully harming the mental health of youth in their states. The suit alleges that Meta knowingly designed and deployed addictive features that put Kentucky’s youngest residents at risk despite claiming the features were safe. It was filed in federal court for the Northern District...

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UK finds drug-resistant fungus on 5 patients on 1 floor of hospital

C. auris develops on the skin. (helivideo/iStock photo) Kentucky Health News A sneaky, infectious, drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris has been found on five patients on one floor at the Albert B. Chandler Hospital at the University of Kentucky, UK announced Tuesday. "All cases have the fungus on their skin,...

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Beshear defends pandemic work as Cameron cites learning loss, makes false claim about founder of Planned Parenthood

Candidates' supporters at KET Monday night (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller) By Al Cross Kentucky Health News In their next-to-last debate before the Nov. 7 election, Gov. Andy Beshear defended his response to the Covid-19 pandemic against criticism from Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Appearing...

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Medicare Advantage isn't an advantage for many rural hospitals

Breckinridge Memorial Hospital in Hardinsburg has had financial difficulties. (Photo by Melissa Patrick) By Sarah Jane TribbleKFF Health News The popularity of Medicare Advantage plans is putting a squeeze on many small, rural hospitals, those with a designation that qualifies them for slightly higher reumbursements...

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UK's latest federal grant to increase number of primary-care doctors in rural Kentucky includes new scholarship opportunities

Medical students Katelin Maggard and Anna Cox on the College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus, a partnership of UK, Western Kentucky University and Med Center Health. (Photo by Clinton Lewis) By Allison Perry University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has received a four-year, nearly $16...

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In debate, Cameron slams Beshear's handling of pandemic; governor says 'I'd rather save lives than win re-election'

Atty. Gen. Daniel Cameron and Gov. Andy Beshear debated Saturday night. (WLKY image via Ky. Lantern) By McKenna HorsleyKentucky Lantern During a debate Saturday night, the candidates for governor were asked if the state should have an ongoing plan for a future pandemic, like the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020,...

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Heart expert: Ibogaine to treat opioid addiction is safe only in hospitals; others say risk can be mitigated; 'rough' plan outlined

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News In a session focused on challenges of getting the psychedelic drug ibogaine approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating addiction with help of the state's opioid settlement funds, a cardiologist said it couldn't be done in a reasonable time and the drug is...

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East Kentucky Diabetes symposium to be held in Hazard Nov. 3

The inaugural East Kentucky Diabetes Symposium will be held Friday, Nov. 3 in Hazard. In Kentucky's Appalachian counties, 16% of adults have diabetes, and the five area development districts with the highest mortality rates are in Eastern Kentucky, according to the 2023 Diabetes Report by the state Cabinet for Health...

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Election prompts a look at Beshear's pandemic restrictions, and Cameron's challenges to them; Kentucky fared better than feared

Gov. Andy Beshear, right, and Dr. Steven Stack, the state’s public-health commissioner, at a news conference in the governor's Capitol suite in May 2020. (Photo by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern) By Sarah Ladd Kentucky Lantern       On March 6, 2020, a Kentuckian tested positive for the novel coronavirus,...

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