State House kills bill that would have banned Covid-19 vaccine mandates, after it takes a fast, unusual trip through the Senate

Kentucky Health News A bill that would have banned Covid-19 vaccines from being required for employment, student enrollment or activities, or medical treatment and licensing, died a quiet death in the state House after a fast and unusual trip through the Senate in the closing days of the legislative session. The...

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Beshear gets bill to limit vaping products to those OKd by FDA; Ky. Youth Advocates calls for enforcement of underage-sales law

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to reduce underage vaping by limiting legal sales to products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and creating a database of retailers that sell the products, passed the legislature in its closing minutes Thursday night and was delivered to Gov. Andy Beshear for...

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Anthem is among health insurers now covering anti-obesity drug if it is prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke

One of Kentucky's major health insurers is among the first that have "agreed to start paying for the popular anti-obesity drug Wegovy for certain people on Medicare with heart-related conditions," The Wall Street Journal reports. Kentucky has the highest share (about 2.1%) of a state's population that have prescriptions...

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Chair of U.S. Senate health committee demands maker of weight-loss drugs, most popular in Kentucky, cut their prices by two-thirds

Axios Visuals map, adapted by Kentucky Health News; click it to enlarge. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who chairs the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee says the maker of two popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy should lower their list prices of “to no more than what...

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Government Accountability Office says Medicare and Medicaid each overpaid health-care providers by about $50 billion in 2023

Inside Health Policy chart; Government Accountability Office data Improper payments, mainly through overpayments, in Medicare and Medicaid are expected to total about $50 billion each for 2023, the federal Government Accountability Office says in its annual report on the topic. Both programs showed declines in...

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Four-part series from PBS and KET tells the story of public health

To play the trailer for the series, click on the arrow button. Kentucky Health News "Public health saved your life today and you don't even know it." That's the catchphrase of a PBS series that began on KET Tuesday night, about the history of public health and how it has extended Americans' life expectancy by 25...

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Legislature sends Beshear bill decriminalizing medical mistakes; some in vitro fertilization advocates say bill will protect it

By Sarah LaddKentucky Lantern A bill giving Kentucky’s health-care providers criminal immunity for medical mistakes — which one lawmaker thinks will enshrine protections for in vitro fertilization by default — is on its way to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk. House Bill 159, which would decriminalize medical mistakes made by health...

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Bill targeting certificate-of-need process for health-care facilities gets only three votes in House Health Services Committee

State Rep. Marianne Proctor (KL photo by Sarah Ladd) By Sarah Ladd Kentucky Lantern A bill that opponents said would effectively repeal Kentucky’s certificate-of-need law for health-care facilities failed in a strong bipartisan vote of the House Health Services Committee Thursday. House Bill 204 would have blocked...

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'Momnibus' bill nears passage with change to require hospitals, birthing centers and midwives to offer perinatal palliative care

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A House-approved bill aimed at reducing maternal-mortality rates in Kentucky was approved unanimously by the Senate Health Services Committee on March 22 and sent to the Senate on the consent calendar, reserved for bills that are passed without debate. State Rep. Kim Moser "Kentucky...

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Bill to let pharmacists give vaccines to children 5 and older heads to governor's desk; 11 Senate Republicans vote against it

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to allow Kentucky pharmacists to order and administer vaccinations to children down to the age of 5 has gained final passage, but only after several senators voiced their concerns about the bill and four of them changed their votes from "yes" to "no." Since 2017, Kentucky pharmacists...

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UK research reveals way to improve treatment for breast cancer

By Elizabeth ChapinUniversity of Kentucky A recently study at UK's Markey Cancer Center uncovered a critical pathway involved in evasion of the immune system by breast-cancer cells, pointing the way to make chemotherapy for the disease more effective. A study by UK Markey researcher Yadi Wu reveals a potential pathway...

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UK research featured in diabetes group's annual research report

Brittany Smalls, Ph.D., is at upper right. By Hilary SmithUniversity of Kentucky One of the cover stories in the annual reserach report from the American Diabetes Association is about a University of Kentucky researcher devoted to helping rural Kentuckians — specifically in Appalachia — better manage their diabetes. highlighting...

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UK wants your ticks: dead, dry and properly packaged

Getty Images via UK By Jordan StricklerUniversity of Kentucky The Kentucky Tick Surveillance Project is now accepting tick-testing submissions from Kentucky residents. This project, produced by the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, aims to improve knowledge about where...

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Bill to protect independent pharmacies from benefit managers moves after changes; insurers say it would increase premiums

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to set new controls on commercial pharmacy-benefit managers was approved by a Senate committee on March 14 as a measure scheduled to be approved without debate by the full Senate.  State Sen. Max Wise The bill's sponsor, Sen. Max Wise, a Republican from Campbellsville,...

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ED visits, hospitalizations for respiratory disease decline in state

State Department for Public Health graphs, adapted by Kentucky Health News By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky's influenza levels remain elevated, but are declining, and hospitalizations for overall respiratory illness are moderate and declining, according to the state Department for Public Health. In...

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U of L will open its new hospital in Bullitt County on Monday

University of Louisville photo illustration The University of Louisville is opening its UofL Health –South Hospital Monday, March 18, with a community breakfast, open house and ceremonial ribbon-cutting.The hospital will accept its first inpatients that afternoon, a university news release said. "The $78 million...

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Medical-cannabis 'cleanup' bill passes House; critics disappointed more qualifying conditions not added and say it increases hurdles

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News In what the sponsor calls a bill to "clean some things up," more restrictions are being added to the state's medical-marijuana law and provisions were added to allow local school districts to opt out. State Rep. Jason Nemes One of the key provisions in House Bill 829,...

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Kentucky Children's Hospital at UK opens center to treat children who are harmed by abuse and neglect, in which Ky. ranks 14th

University of Kentucky and Kosair for Kids representatives celebrate opening of the Kosair for Kids Center for Safe & Healthy Children & Families at Kentucky Children's Hospital. (Photo by Adam Padgett) By Hilary Brown University of Kentucky Representatives from Kentucky Children’s Hospital and the nonprofit...

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