Health
Months after Eastern Kentucky floods, survivors weigh the future
JACKSON — When the 2021 Eastern Kentucky floods came, Nancy Herald’s basement filled to the rafters.? She lost roughly 50 years of cherished Christmas decorations stored along the concrete wall, along with the washer, dryer and refrigerator.? Because of that experience, the family thought they’d be ready when the 2022 floods came more than a […]
Stivers, leading foe of medical cannabis, suggests he could support it in end-of life cases
This article is republished from?Kentucky Health News, a publication of the?Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues?at the?University of Kentucky. State Senate President Robert Stivers suggested Monday night that he might be willing to approve medical marijuana in Kentucky on a very limited basis, to relieve patients’ pain at the end of their lives. But […]
Kentucky counties and cities get first installment of money from national opioid settlements
This article is republished from Kentucky Health News, a publication of the?Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues?at the?University of Kentucky. Kentucky’s cities and counties have received their first installment of the state’s money from the national opioid settlement, most of which must be used to combat the opioid epidemic. Knox County Judge-Executive Mike Mitchell […]
Public health agencies try to restore trust as they fight misinformation
This story is republished from Kaiser Health News. OKLAHOMA CITY — By the summer of 2021, Phil Maytubby, deputy CEO of the health department here, was concerned to see the numbers of people getting vaccinated against covid-19 slipping after an initially robust response. With doubt, fear, and misinformation running rampant nationwide — both online and […]
$1.3 million in donations will bring expansion, study of substance use recovery program
FRANKFORT –Volunteers of America Mid-States on Friday announced an expansion of its substance abuse recovery program and a long term study to look at its effects and success thanks to $1.3 million in donations.? The five-year study is being called Project Strong. Through it, researchers will follow graduates of the Freedom House program for five […]
Kentucky Supreme Court rejects Beshear’s claim that legislature wrongly curbed his emergency powers
Citing legislative immunity, the Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected Gov. Andy Beshear’s claim that the legislature acted unconstitutionally when it curbed his emergency powers in 2021. The court ruled that the state Constitution grants lawmakers immunity from such lawsuits. The legislation in question was a response to Beshear’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Among […]
Hundreds of hospitals sue patients or threaten their credit
This article is republished from Kaiser Health News. Despite growing evidence of the harm caused by medical debt, hundreds of U.S. hospitals maintain policies to aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills, using tactics such as lawsuits, selling patient accounts to debt buyers, and reporting patients to credit rating agencies, a KHN investigation shows. The collection […]
Teva and Allergan settle opioid lawsuit with Kentucky for $114 million
Two more pharmaceutical manufacturers, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd., and Allergan PLC., have entered agreements with Kentucky to settle claims that they “fueled the opioid crisis by marketing, promoting, selling, and distributing opioids,” the Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office said Thursday. In a press release, the office said the agreements will bring more than $114 million […]
As fentanyl use spikes, feds urge states to ease methadone rules
This article was first published by Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Ever since the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl began showing up in the illicit drug supply in 2014, the number of U.S. overdose deaths has skyrocketed — exceeding all other accidental deaths, including car crashes and gun violence. In response, the federal […]
ER doctors call private equity staffing practices iIllegal, seek to ban them
This article was first published by KHN?(Kaiser Health News). A group of emergency physicians and consumer advocates in multiple states are pushing for stiffer enforcement of decades-old statutes that prohibit the ownership of medical practices by corporations not owned by licensed doctors. Thirty-three states plus the District of Columbia have rules on their books against […]
Walmart, Kentucky reach opioid settlement for more than $53 million
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Wednesday announced an opioid settlement between Walmart and Kentucky for more than $53 million.? “This agreement with Walmart provides the Commonwealth with over $53 million to help Kentuckians who have been harmed by the opioid epidemic,” Cameron said in a news release. “The Commonwealth is among the states […]
Kentuckians urged to get vaccinated against flu which has already killed six children
Facing the worst flu outbreak in a decade, Kentucky has already recorded the deaths of six children from influenza, equaling the record for pediatric influenza flu deaths in a single season, according to a release from Gov. Andy Beshear’s office Monday afternoon. Beshear encouraged Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the flu and said that three […]