Author: Al Cross
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Aetna to quit selling Ky. Obamacare policies; affects 10 counties in 3 major metros; may relate to feds’ suit to block Humana deal
Aetna Inc. will stop selling federally subsidized health-insurance policies in Kentucky and 10 other states, remaining only in Virginia, Delaware, Iowa and Nebraska, it said Aug. 15. The company is...
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Heroin arrests and treatment are up in Appalachia, enlarging threat of HIV and hepatitis C outbreaks from unclean needles
Partly because it’s much cheaper than pain pills, heroin is “quickly making inroads in Southern and Eastern Kentucky,” the head of an anti-drug organization told Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal....
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FTC warns online marketers about claims of Zika protection
“It appears that some online marketers may be trying to take advantage of consumer concerns” about the Zika virus, so the Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to 10 of...
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Jury awards Corbin man $21.2 million for unnecessary heart surgeries at London hospital
Lexington Herald-Leader photo A jury said Wednesday that St. Joseph Health System and its parent firm should pay a Corbin milk-truck driver $21.2 million in damages for unnecessary surgeries on...
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Ky. still has 300,000 without health coverage; they’re more likely to be working, and younger and less educated, than the insured
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The 300,000 Kentuckians who still lacked health coverage at the end of 2015 were more likely to be working but earning low pay. They were...
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Program to double purchasing power of federal nutrition programs at Kentucky farmers’ markets expands; now at 27 locations
Kentuckians receiving government nutritional assistance can double their spending power, up to $10 a day, if they shop at one of 25 local farmers’ markets or two Fresh Stops Markets...
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Feds drop advice to floss after finding scant scientific evidence that it helps, but dentists still recommend it as ‘low cost, low risk’
A flossing demonstration (Associated Press photo: Julio Cortez) Flossing might help you have better oral health. But there’s no proof of it, despite decades of recommendations by dental experts, the...
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Sharing syringes isn’t like sharing a bottle or a joint; it could lead to HIV or hepatitis outbreaks, and Kentucky is most vulnerable
Map from The Guardian highlights Wolfe County. Amanda Holpuch of The Guardian took a trip to Wolfe County, perhaps the U.S. county most vulnerable to an outbreak of HIV or...
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McConnell continues to blame Democrats for lack of Zika funding, not mentioning details of what they call GOP ‘poison pills’
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News As the Zika virus spreads in Florida, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky continues to press his argument that Senate Democrats are responsible for...