Health

Telehealth abortion still on the rise, especially in states with shield laws, report shows

BY: - August 7, 2024

Both the overall number of abortions and the use of telehealth abortion care continue to increase in the United States, according to the latest #WeCount report released Wednesday. Telehealth made up 20% of all abortion care in the first three months of 2024, and the monthly total of abortions exceeded 100,000 for the first time […]

COVID-19 on the rise in Kentucky

BY: - August 6, 2024

LOUISVILLE — COVID-19 is “alive and well” in Kentucky, cautions infectious disease expert Dr. Mark Burns, as hospitalizations for the virus rise and students and teachers head back to school. Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services data shows an uptick in emergency department visits and hospitalizations from COVID-19 as of Aug. 1.? In July […]

Data privacy after Dobbs: Is period tracking safe?

BY: - August 6, 2024

After the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and abortion was banned in the state of Tennessee, Dr. Danielle Kelvas quit using an app that tracked her menstrual cycle. “It frightened me … I actually got frightened because it tracked me for like, a week,” Kelvas said of the Oura Ring […]

Harris’ California health care battles signal fights ahead for hospitals if she wins

BY: and - August 6, 2024

When Kamala Harris was California’s top prosecutor, she was concerned that mergers among hospitals, physician groups, and health insurers could thwart competition and lead to higher prices for patients. If she wins the presidency in November, she’ll have a wide range of options to blunt monopolistic behavior nationwide. The Democratic vice president could influence the […]

Addiction Recovery Care says it’s cooperating with FBI investigation into possible fraud

BY: - August 2, 2024

Kentucky’s largest provider of addiction treatment services, Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, is the subject of an? FBI investigation into possible health care fraud, according to a July 30 post on a website of the federal agency’s Louisville office. ARC, which is funded almost entirely through Kentucky’s Medicaid program, has not been charged with any […]

KY abortion rights advocates mark milestone, lament state’s barrier to ballot initiatives

BY: - August 1, 2024

Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund members, who in June announced a pro-abortion access messaging campaign, gathered at the Warren County Courthouse in Bowling Green Thursday to say their campaign has reached 1.8 million people through digital ads.? Ona Marshall, who founded KRFF and co-owned one of Kentucky’s last two abortion clinics, also criticized Kentucky’s lack of […]

Kentucky urged to curb air pollution that makes Mammoth Cave one of the haziest national parks

BY: - August 1, 2024

Mammoth Cave National Park is famous for what’s below the ground, featuring the world’s longest explored cave system with hundreds of miles of passages and a unique ecosystem of fish, insects, worms and crustaceans. But it’s what’s happening in the air above the cave system that has Kentucky environmentalists concerned.? Mammoth Cave is one of […]

Lawmakers join KY’s largest addiction treatment provider to oppose Medicaid payment cuts

BY: and - July 30, 2024

FRANKFORT — The state’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment is warning that looming cuts in Medicaid reimbursement to some providers could damage efforts to curb addiction that has engulfed Kentucky — just as the state is showing improvements. “Kentucky has made significant strides in access to treatment,” Matt Brown, chief administrative officer for […]

Kentucky lawmakers hear about efforts to resolve dispute over access to abuse, neglect records

BY: - July 30, 2024

FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the state auditor’s office said Tuesday they are open to entering a memorandum of understanding to ensure the office of the ombudsman has the access it needs to a computer system that stores information about abuse and neglect cases.? The two parties are still hashing […]

Kentucky judge dismisses constitutional challenge to anti-vaping law?

BY: - July 29, 2024

Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2024 law banning the sale of some vaping products.? In doing so, Wingate sided with the lawsuit’s defendants — Allyson Taylor, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and Secretary of State Michael Adams — who filed a […]

‘Between rock, hard place:’ Will anyone ever have standing to challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban?

BY: - July 29, 2024

LOUISVILLE — Lisa Sobel thinks any Kentuckian who has a uterus should have standing to challenge the state’s abortion ban.? The Kentucky Supreme Court and, more recently, a judge in Louisville, disagree.? Meanwhile, Sobel, one of three Jewish women challenging the ban on religious grounds, says she’s left in a “holding pattern.” She is afraid […]

Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about abortion

BY: - July 29, 2024

Reproductive rights has taken center stage in the first post-Roe presidential election that presently features a longtime advocate for reproductive rights in possible Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, opposite former Republican President Donald Trump, whose three appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices helped overturn federal abortion rights. Although Trump’s former health staffers have co-authored the […]