Author: Al Cross
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Rogers, other drug-caucus chair file bill to reverse FDA’s approval of new painkiller; competing company has alternative
Illustration from PainAndDepression.com U.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw federal approval of a new formulation of hydrocodone that is...
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Todd County weekly’s editor-publisher wonders why so many uninsured locals haven’t signed up for health insurance
With open enrollment in the new health-insurance exchanges ending March 31, at least one country editor is wondering why most people in his community who lack coverage haven’t take advantage...
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Statewide smoking ban dead for this year, as House Democrats worry about political ramifications in fall elections
The sponsor of a bill for a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed public places said it is dead for this year, Tom Loftus reports for The Courier-Journal. Westrom “It’s...
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Rural health advocate pleads with legislature to ‘end the tobacco epidemic in rural Kentucky’
Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, looks at a Smoke Free Kentucky display in the state Capitol. The group added black wreaths after the smoking-ban bill died. (Courier-Journal photo by Jonathan Palmer) The...
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Senate OKs bill to regulate e-cigarettes just like tobacco products
A bill to limit the sale of electronic cigarettes in the same way as sales of tobacco products passed the state Senate on Thursday, March 6. Senate Bill 109, sponsored by...
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House passes bill creating new type of order for end-of-life care, to be signed by patient and physician
An end-of-life order known as “medical order for scope of treatment” would be allowed in Kentucky under a bill that passed the Kentucky House on an 86-7 vote Thursday, March...
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Wear blue on Friday, March 7 to mark Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and encourage screening and colonoscopies
Friday, March 7 will be “Dress in Blue Day” to mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and to help raise awareness about colon cancer in Kentucky, according to Madeline Abramson, wife...
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Sponsor of statewide smoking ban says House leaders are blocking a vote to protect some members from political fallout
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The bill for a statewide smoking ban has stalled, with the prime sponsor saying House leaders are blocking a vote to protect members who...
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Tobacco is top target in Beshear’s health plans, but he still praises expansion of plant that makes smokeless tobacco
Gov. Steve Beshear says tobacco is the main cause of Kentuckians’ relatively poor health, which he is pushing to improve, but on Feb. 27 “his tone shifted as he praised...
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KentuckyOne Health lays off 500 of 15,000 employees, says it won’t fill 200 vacancies; cites Obamacare and merger
KentuckyOne Health, which dominates the Louisville hospital market and has scores of locations across the state, says it has laid off 500 of its 15,000 employees and identified 200 vacancies...