Bill would keep abusers of elderly from inheriting from them

Someone who abuses an elderly person would no longer be able to inherit the departed's assets. That is the aim of House Bill 52, which unanimously passed a House committee Thursday and is expected to pass the full House.

Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Shively, right, said the bill is meant to close a gap in the existing law. "A law known as the 'slayer statute' already bars a person convicted of killing someone from inheriting from the victim," The Courier-Journal's Deborah Yetter reports. "But as things stand now, people convicted of abusing, neglecting or financially exploiting an elderly person still can benefit financially after their death."

One instance involved John Jackson Robbins of Louisville, who was sent to prison for 10 years after being found guilty of neglecting, abusing and financially exploiting his mother. He inherited her $1.1 million estate upon her death.

Jefferson District Judge David Bowles, right (C-J photo), oversaw the probate case. Despite efforts to keep the money from Robbins, "there was no law to prevent that," he said.

If no other heirs can be found after an heir-caused death, the proposed law would give the estate to a trust fund for protection of the elderly. (Read more)

Morehead substance-abuse center gets $250,000 grant

The Morehead Inspiration Center, a substance-abuse rehabilitation facility, has received $250,000 from the state, funds that will be used to expand recovery options for addicts.

MIC is part of Recovery Kentucky, an initiative that improves access to long-term residential treatment for addition, The Morehead News' Noelle Hunter reports. The initiative, established in 2005 under former Gov. Ernie Fletcher and continued under Gov. Steve Beshear, has 10 rehab centers, in Campbellsville, Erlanger, Florence, Harlan, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Morehead, Owensboro, Paducah and Richmond. Each center uses a peer-based recovery model, offers life skills training and provides a therapeutic environment.

The funds for the Morehead center come from a community development block grant, money that comes from the federal government but is administered by the state. (Read more)

U of L scientist wins $9.5 million for heart research

A University of Louisville scientist has received more than $9.5 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to conduct promising new cardiovascular research.

Dr. Roberto Bolli, right, aims to find a drug that would reduce heart damage during a heart attack, The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar reports.

Bolli will also work with scientists at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Emory University in Atlanta and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to conduct the research.

Kentucky Department for Public Health numbers show 10,000 Kentuckians died from heart disease in 2005. (Read more)

Woodford County coalition formed to improve dental health

The Woodford County Oral Health Coalition has partnered with nine local dentists to give free dental care to 16 elementary students in the Woodford County public school system.

On Jan. 27, coalition members and Woodford County Judge-Executive John Coyle (far left in photo from The Woodford Sun) proclaimed February as dental health month. Coalition members encouraged citizens to brush and floss every day.

The Oral Health Coalition was formed after receiving a federal grant from the Kentucky Oral Health Program, the Sun's Bob Vlach reports. Woodford County children were also helped by the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, which provided free dental screenings for elementary school students in October.

Decongestant prescription bill passes panel; both parties split

After hearing an endorsement from Kentucky's senior member of Congress, and opposition from the wife of another Republican congressman, a state Senate committee voted 6-4 to require precriptions for decongestants that are often used to make methamphetamine.

Fifth District Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers of Somerset made what the Lexington Herald-Leader called "a rare Frankfort appearance" for the bill, at two committee meetings and a Capitol rotunda rally, but perhaps the rarer event was the contrary testimony of a colleague's spouse -- Pat Davis, wife of 4th District Rep. Geoff Davis of Hebron.

Rogers, accompanied by House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Presonsburg, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that prescription laws in Mississippi and Oregon greatly reduced the number of meth labs in those states. "Our future is gravely at stake here," Rogers said. He said he was testifying to counter the heavy advertising and lobbying by decongestant manufacturers, who are running full-page newspaper ads and heavy flights of radio commercials.

The radio ads say the MethCheck electronic tracking system designed to prevent multiple purchases of decongestants for meth making "is working" and "effective," and some law-enforcement officials testified likewise yesterday, "but others in law enforcement said that the number of meth labs in Kentucky has skyrocketed even with MethCheck and that most law enforcement officers find meth labs through regular police work, such as traffic stops, not with MethCheck," Jack Brammer writes for the Herald-Leader.

On the other hand, Pat Davis "told the committee that, as a mother of six and grandmother of one, she is concerned the bill will lead to more trips to the emergency room and to the doctor," Brammer reports. Davis said all her children have allergies or asthma, and "This will drive already high medical costs higher."

The two Republican senators on the committee from Davis's district, Jack Westwood of Erlanger and John Schickel of Union, voted against the bill, along with Democrats Perry Clark of Louisville and Jerry Rhoads of Madisonville. Voting for the bill were four Republicans Carroll Gibson of Leitchfield, Tom Jensen of London, Robert Stivers of Manchester and Dan Seum of Louisville, and Democrats Ray Jones of Pikeville and Robin Webb of Grayson.

The division among Republicans appeared to short-circuit Williams' plan to have the full Senate vote on the bill later in the day. No vote was held. (Read more) Jessie Halliday of The Courier-Journal expects a Senate vote next week. (Read more)

Annual Economic Report from UK business school examines impact of health-care reform, state of oral health in Kentucky

The federal health-reform law could have a big impact on Kentucky's uninsured population, and Kentuckians' oral health is improving but still at risk. Those are two major health findings in the 39th Annual Economic Report from the Center for Business and Economic Research in the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics. Kentucky's poor health status, relative to the rest of the nation, can be an economic handicap.

Health care reform

The report notes that health reform could benefit 626,000 uninsured Kentucky residents, 15 percent of the state's total population. Implementation of the new law will mean:

• 920,000 health plans will be prohibited from denying coverage to persons with pre-existing health conditions.

• 261,000 people will benefit from expanded Medicaid eligibility. In 2014, Medicaid eligibility will expand to cover all citizens and legal immigrants under 65 who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level‚ $14,404 for an individual and $29,327 for a family of four in 2009.

• 51,500 small businesses will receive tax credits to purchase coverage for employees.

• 221,000 families will receive tax credits to purchase health insurance.

However, the study noted that implementation of the health care law is still precarious. "The increased coverage promised by the new federal law will both provide and require new resources. Federal-state relationships will be tested ... Court challenges to major provisions of the law create even more uncertainty over the future contours of Kentucky's uninsured population," researcher Debra Miller wrote.

Oral health

Between 1996 and 2008, oral health among Kentucky adults generally improved, according to most indicators. "We find an across-the-board improvement for virtually all social, economic, and demographic groups for being at risk for permanent tooth extraction, but the likelihood of visiting the dentist decreased for many between 1996 and 2008," researchers Michael Childress and Michal Smith-Mello write. The percentage of Kentuckians missing six or more teeth declined from 32 to 22 percent, and the percentage at risk for permanent tooth extraction decreased from 63 to 51 percent.

But the researchers said the positive trends in Kentucky's health might not continue, noting challenges such as "changes in the health insurance market, high rates of smoking, rising obesity rates, and persistently poor oral health coupled with shortages of dentists in some regions in the state."

The researchers noted that the American Dental Association projects a 12 percent decline in the dentist-to-population ratio from 2001 to 2015. A 2006 Kentucky dental provider workforce analysis estimated the state would lose 286 practicing dentists by 2016. That has already started to happen, with Appalachia — 30 percent of whose residents already have six or more teeth missing — losing 15 dentists from 2006 to 2010.

Researchers say getting more dentists to participate in the Medicaid program, public health campaigns aimed at dental and medical providers, outreach programs and coming up with creative incentives such as forgiving loans to dentists who agree to work in underserved areas would help progress move forward.

The report, which looks at various aspects of Kentucky's economy, also examined when Kentuckians should expect the economy to recover; poverty rates; educational achievement gaps; and access to technology, including broadband access. For a summary click here.

Bill filed to tighten oversight of Medicaid managed care programs

In the wake of an eye-opening audit of Passport Health Plan, a Democratic lawmaker is sponsoring a bill to tighten the oversight over such Medicaid managed-care programs.

State Rep. Jimmie Lee of Elizabethtown filed House Bill 265, which requires the Department of Medicaid Services, part  of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, "to assign contract oversight, performance and monitoring duties to department personnel." The bill was introduced in the House Tuesday.

Lee told the Lexington Herald-Leader's Beth Musgrave that the Medicaid department needs the expertise of employees who specialize in writing and managing managed-care contracts. In November, Passport's state audit uncovered "questionable spending on travel, food and lobbying," Musgrove reports. "I think we've learned a lot from that contract, and we don't want the same thing to happen again," Lee said. (Read more)

McConnell's health care repeal fails on party-line vote

The Senate voted along strictly partisan lines tonight not to repeal the health-care reform law of 2010, but Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky vowed to keep trying.

All 50 Democrats present and one independent voted "no" on the repeal amendment McConnell filed Tuesday. All 47 Republicans voted in favor of repeal, The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez reports. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) were not present.

For repeal to pass, Republicans would need 13 Democrats to cross party lines. Despite the fact that four Democratic Senators — Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Ben Nelson (Neb.) — are already facing tough re-election bids, none of them did.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who recently announced that he would not seek re-election, said repealing the law would "significantly worsen the deficit, a fact confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office." Conrad, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said that debt would increase by more than $1.4 trillion if repeal passed.

McConnell retorted with a line he has used before: "Only in Washington would somebody claim that spending trillions of dollars on a brand new government entitlement and a massive bureaucracy to go along with it will save money."

McConnell's measure, which matched the House's version of repeal, was one of three amendments proposed to an unrelated bill dealing with funds for the Federal Aviation Administration. Easily passed 81-17 was an amendment to repeal a tax-reporting provision of the health law that many said was too much to ask of small businesses. A similar amendment, which would have paid for itself by repealing oil companies' tax breaks, fell short 44-54. (Read more)

Study: Children are obese because of bad habits, not heredity

Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center have found poor health habits, not heredity, are making children fat.

Check-ups of 1,003 Michigan sixth-graders showed children who were obese were "more likely to consume school lunch instead of a packed lunch from home and spend two hours a day watching TV or playing a video game," reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

"For the extremely overweight child, genetic screening may be a consideration," said study senior author Kim A. Eagle, a cardiologist and a director of the UM Cardiovascular Center. "For the rest, increasing physical activity, reducing recreational screen time and improving the nutritional value of school lunches offers great promise to begin a reversal of current childhood obesity trends."

On Dec. 13, President Obama signed the Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which will improve the nutritional content of school lunches in an effort to combat childhood obesity. The move will affect nearly 32 million children.

In 1980, only 6.5 percent of U.S. children aged 6 to 11 were obese. In 2008, 19.6 percent were. (Read more)

C-J examines effect of prescription drug abuse on Ky. children

The Courier-Journal continued today its series "Prescription for Tragedy," an in-depth look at the effects of prescription drug abuse across the state.

For today's installment, reporters Emily Hagedorn and Laura Ungar talked to children and adults about their experience with drugs. Eighth-grader Avery Bradshaw's dad died from an OxyContin overdose when he was 7. "It destroyed us," Bradshaw, an anti-drug advocate, said. "It didn't just hurt our immediate family. It hurt the whole family."

Watkins family (Scott Utterback photo)

While children are losing their parents to drugs, they are becoming abusers themselves. The 2007-2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health ranked Kentucky eighth in the U.S. for non-medical use of pain relievers by 12- to 17-year-olds. Operation UNITE numbers show Eastern Kentucky children are getting high using prescription drugs at the average age of 11, Hagedorn and Ungar report. Ashley Watkins, a mother of two (in center of C-J photo), was 13 and eventually became and addict. "I wish I didn't have to look at them and know what I put them through and that it was my fault," Watkins said of her daughters. (Read more)

Four out of five Americans look on Internet to answer health questions; third most common reason to surf

Finding answers to questions about their health is the third most common reason Americans use the Internet, a survey by the Pew Internet Project has found. Emailing and using searching engines are the top one and two reasons respectively.

A national telephone survey conducted Aug. 9 to Sept. 13, 2010, found 80 percent of Internet users search online for health-related information. The most likely groups to access health-related websites are caregivers, women, whites, younger adults, and adults with at least some college education. Those least likely to look for health-related information are African Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, older adults and adults with a high school education or less.

The Washington Post's Nancy Szokan reports Pew has been monitoring how Americans use the Internet since 2000. "In many ways," Pew Associate Director Susannah Fox said, "the Internet has become the de facto second opinion." (Read more)

Philip Morris's parent company and drug makers spent the most on lobbying the state legislature last year

The two biggest-spending lobbies of the state legislature last year were a tobacco company that opposes a statewide smoking ban and a group of drug makers who oppose a bill to require prescriptions for decongestants used to make methamphetamine.

The biggest spender, dropping $357,433 to lobby the General Assembly, was Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA. Altria is also a significant owner of SABMiller, and alcohol lobbies always have interests in play. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association was the second-biggest spender of 2010, paying $343,377. CHPA represents manufacturers and distributors of non-prescription, over-the-counter medication, who fear a loss of decongestant sales if the anti-meth bill becomes law.

All told, companies and advocacy groups spent $16.65 million lobbying the General Assembly last year, down about 3 percent from the last long session, in 2008. That session occurred before the economic recession, and the amount spent in 2010 on receptions, meals and events dropped significantly — by 24 percent — from 2008. In 2009, when a short session was held, about $15.3 million was spent on lobbying.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which spent the most on lobbying in 2010, ranked third with spending of $211,935. University Health Care, which operates the Passport Health Plan, was fourth with $190,840. Passport came under fire last year after state Auditor Crit Luallen uncovered unnecessary spending on travel and entertainment, inflated salaries and a lack of oversight. After that review "and a change in management, UHC reduced its lobbying presence in the State Capitol from 13 lobbyists in 2010 to two lobbyists in 2011," says the January edition of Ethics Reporter, the monthly publication of the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission. (Read more)

The other organizations and businesses that spent more than $100,000 on lobbying last year are: Kentucky Medical Association ($133,274); Houchens Industries, a Bowling Green conglomerate ($132,000); the Kentucky Retail Federation ($127,803); the Keeneland Association ($121,661); the Kentucky Hospital Association ($120,113); CSX Corp. ($116,405); Kentucky Farm Bureau ($109,373); the Kentucky Justice Association, plaintiffs' lawyers ($105,543); Kentucky Education Association, teachers ($105,353); the Home Builders Association of Kentucky ($103,437); and Res-Care Inc., which operates residential programs for the disabled ($100,289).

To read a report from the Lexington Herald-Leader on the lobby spending, click here.