Health
Legislators seek to examine Kentucky Medicaid for ways to contain costs
FRANKFORT — Medicaid — the federal-state program that provides health care to almost 1.5 million Kentuckians — is on the chopping block in Washington and could soon come under examination in Frankfort. The House has approved creating a 21-member Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board to look for ways to rein in Kentucky Medicaid cost increases. […]
With two new deaths, flu has killed three children in Kentucky since last month
Two more Kentucky children have died from flu, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services announced Monday. That makes three child flu deaths this season. The first pediatric flu death was reported on Feb. 7. Of these three children who died from the flu, two were unvaccinated, according to a cabinet spokeswoman. The latest are […]
KY Senate votes to regulate intoxicating hemp beverages but drops sales ban
The Kentucky Senate advanced a bill Friday that would regulate intoxicating hemp-derived beverages but without banning their sales as first proposed.? The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, amended Senate Bill 202 after Republicans and Democrats alike expressed skepticism about the ban when the measure was approved by a committee earlier this week. Adams’s […]
‘Never alone’: Kentucky marks five years since its first reported case of COVID-19
FRANKFORT — Prisha Hedau was in fourth grade when Kentucky got its first case of COVID-19.? She recalls laughing with her friends at school one moment and being whisked away by her mother the next back in March 2020.? “I really regret the fact that I wasn’t even able to say a proper goodbye to […]
KY House passes bill canceling Beshear’s restrictions on conversion therapy
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? Correction: This story previously misstated how House Bill 495 was changed through a floor amendment. FRANKFORT — The GOP-controlled Kentucky House approved a bill Wednesday that seeks to invalidate an executive […]
Proposal for protecting KY kids from nicotine products draws cheers as children’s advocates rally
FRANKFORT — Hundreds rallied in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday for Children’s Advocacy Day, calling on lawmakers to pass youth vaping protections and other policies to improve the quality of life for Kentucky’s kids.? Terry Brooks, the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, which organized the rally, said about 80% of KYA’s legislative priorities are on […]
Birth center legislation advances again in Kentucky General Assembly
FRANKFORT — Another bill aimed at opening the way for freestanding birth centers in Kentucky unanimously passed a House committee Wednesday morning.? House Bill 90 is the sister bill to Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer’s Senate Bill 17, which already passed the Senate — the first time a freestanding birth center bill passed that chamber in […]
KY version of Trump’s health commission gets Senate OK as Democrat denounces ‘abject misinformation’
FRANKFORT — A Democratic physician pointed to a Kentucky measles case and condemned “abject misinformation” as the Republican-controlled state Senate unanimously voted Thursday to adopt Trump administration health goals and launch a Make America Healthy Again Kentucky Task Force. Sen. Karen Berg, a physician in Louisville, voted for the resolution but said, “We are going […]
GOP bill shielding conversion therapy clears committee on party line vote
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers would endanger vulnerable minors by approving a bill to protect conversion therapy, warned a coalition representing psychologists, social workers and the LGBTQ community during a committee hearing […]
Kentuckian has confirmed case of measles
An adult Kentuckian has measles after traveling internationally “to an area with ongoing measles transmission,” the Kentucky Department for Public Health announced Wednesday night.? People who were at the Planet Fitness at 101 Allen Way in Frankfort, on Feb. 17 between 9 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. may have been exposed, the department said. The patient […]
Kentucky House moves to make fluoridated water program optional?
FRANKFORT — A bill to make water fluoridation optional in Kentucky passed the House on Wednesday with bipartisan opposition.? House Bill 16, should it become law, means Kentucky will let local water systems’ governing bodies decide whether to add fluoride to water. The 68-29 vote came after 30 minutes of debate that focused on benefits […]
Kentucky Senate moves to regulate vape retailers, punish ‘bad actors’
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s Senate is moving to add harsher penalties for retailers who sell vaping products to minors.? Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon’s Senate Bill 100 passed 33-3 on Wednesday. The three who voted against it — Sens. Robby Mills, Aaron Reed and Lindsey Tichenor — are all Republican.? The legislation would license all retailers who […]