health

Attorney General Andy Beshear is appealing to Kentucky veterans with a set of health-related programs and policies he’d work toward if elected governor in November.

“We have a special duty to our veterans whose health care needs so often come from the sacrifice that they have made for our country,” Beshear said, adding that he wants to address some of the biggest challenges of vets.

“Our health care plan is designed to make sure that we can provide the services we need to stop those suicides, to stop that substance abuse. And to truly be there for our veterans.”

Kentucky officials are reporting the first statewide drop in drug overdose deaths since 2013.

A report issued Thursday says 1,333 people died from drug overdoses in 2018, down from a record 1,566 deaths the prior year. The decline follows years of steady increases in the death toll, driven mostly by surges in opioid abuse, heroin and fentanyl.

The report says the largest drop in fatal overdoses occurred in Jefferson County — Kentucky’s most populous county.

Kentucky health groups will push to raise the tobacco sales age to 21 and create a tax on e-cigarettes and vapes in the upcoming 2020 state legislative session.

The Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow wants a Kentucky law that would raise the age for the sale of tobacco products — including e-cigarettes — to 21. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has introduced a bill that would raise the age nationally, but Coalition President Ben Chandler said Kentucky should pass its own law.

After more than two years of being up for sale, the future of Louisville’s Jewish Hospital is unclear. If the downtown hospital closes, it will leave countless patients looking for care elsewhere. But nearby facilities don’t necessarily have capacity, and they can’t begin to hire more staff to address the needs until a decision is made about Jewish.

In 2017, parent company Catholic Health Initiatives announced Jewish Hospital, the Frazier Rehab Institute, Sts. Mary’s and Elizabeth and Jewish Hospital Shelbyville were up for sale following financial troubles. University of Louisville Hospital explored finding a partner to buy the hospital with, but earlier this month  said the effort failed.

Supporters of a new Hospice Home in Glasgow are one step closer to getting the project finalized.

A $2 million USDA Rural Economic Development Loan has been secured on behalf of the T.J. Community Mission Foundation, which is planning to break ground on the new facility this fall.

Farmers RECC secured the loan for the foundation.

T.J. Regional Health CEO Neil Thornbury said the foundation decided in 2015 to address the shortage of residential hospice homes for patients needing end-of-life care in the Glasgow region.

An annual report measuring the health and well-being of Kentucky children shows progress in nine categories, including the number of children without health insurance, children living in poverty and children whose parents lack secure employment. But the state still lags behind the nation in these areas, including in the rate of teen births, and children living in single-parent families.

According to the annual Kids Count Data Book, the rate of children living in poverty in Kentucky is higher than the national average: about 22 percent of Kentucky kids lived below the federal poverty line in 2017. That’s compared to a nationwide average of about 18 percent. The federal poverty level in 2017 was $20,420.

  Even though most of Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed changes to Kentucky’s Medicaid system are still locked in a court battle, treatment for drug addiction will be expanded under the program starting July 1.

Kentuckians on Medicaid are currently eligible for some substance use disorder treatment, but the expansion will include coverage for methadone, an addiction medication not previously covered by Medicaid, and up to 30 days at a residential drug treatment facility.

Carol Steckel, commissioner of Kentucky’s Department of Medicaid Services, says the program will assist the state’s fight against the opioid crisis and other substance addictions.