Friday, 15 February 2013
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Princess Health and Frontier Nursing University in Hyden helps bring better family health care to rural America with distance learning.Princessiccia
Affordable Care Act health care access health care law health reform medical education midwifery nurse practitioners nurses Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rural health rural medicineMidwives and nurse practitioners who recently graduated from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden address the unique challenges of rural areas, including shortages of health care providers, by bringing local health care to rural communities across the country. FNU was featured in a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
FNU, a graduate program that offers distance education to nurses with an interest in nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner and women�s health specialties, aims to build a pipeline of highly educated nurses serving in rural or underserved areas, reports RWJF, one of its funders. Many scholars and grantees sponsored by RWJF go on to spearhead projects to improve access to high quality nursing care in remote areas, the foundation says.
�We�re trying to introduce primary care providers into rural areas in such a way that they can provide high quality care and preventive services too,� says Suzan Ulrich, associate dean of midwifery and women�s health at FNU and an RWJF executive nurse fellow.
Demand for health care is rising nationwide because of an aging population that is living longer, but sicker, with multiple chronic conditions. The need for health care providers will intensify next year, when millions of new patients will become eligible for health insurance under the health-reform law.
Rural parts of the country face unique challenges and shortages of health providers, including nurses, can be particularly acute in rural areas, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. These nurses and other providers have less access to education programs, which tend to be located in more densely populated areas. Programs that offer advanced degrees, from the baccalaureate to the doctorate, can be especially difficult to access for students living in rural areas, according to RWJF.
Identifying and educating nurses from rural areas is a key goal of FNU, which offers distance education programs that enable students to remain in their home communities and a �bridge� program that allows nurses with associate�s degrees to move more easily into master�s and doctorate programs. �These students really love where they live,� Ulrich said. �If we can educate them to stay within their communities, then those communities are going to have a provider who�s going to be there a long time." (Read more)
FNU, a graduate program that offers distance education to nurses with an interest in nurse-midwifery and family nurse practitioner and women�s health specialties, aims to build a pipeline of highly educated nurses serving in rural or underserved areas, reports RWJF, one of its funders. Many scholars and grantees sponsored by RWJF go on to spearhead projects to improve access to high quality nursing care in remote areas, the foundation says.
�We�re trying to introduce primary care providers into rural areas in such a way that they can provide high quality care and preventive services too,� says Suzan Ulrich, associate dean of midwifery and women�s health at FNU and an RWJF executive nurse fellow.
Demand for health care is rising nationwide because of an aging population that is living longer, but sicker, with multiple chronic conditions. The need for health care providers will intensify next year, when millions of new patients will become eligible for health insurance under the health-reform law.
Rural parts of the country face unique challenges and shortages of health providers, including nurses, can be particularly acute in rural areas, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. These nurses and other providers have less access to education programs, which tend to be located in more densely populated areas. Programs that offer advanced degrees, from the baccalaureate to the doctorate, can be especially difficult to access for students living in rural areas, according to RWJF.
Identifying and educating nurses from rural areas is a key goal of FNU, which offers distance education programs that enable students to remain in their home communities and a �bridge� program that allows nurses with associate�s degrees to move more easily into master�s and doctorate programs. �These students really love where they live,� Ulrich said. �If we can educate them to stay within their communities, then those communities are going to have a provider who�s going to be there a long time." (Read more)
Princess Health and Senate advances bill to allow Christian heath coverage cooperative back into Kentucky.Princessiccia
church and state health costs health insurance insurance legislation legislature religion state government; General AssemblyWithout dissent, the state Senate approved a bill Wednesday, Feb. 13, that would grant Christian health cost-sharing organization Medi-Share an exemption from the state's insurance laws and enable it to resume operation in Kentucky.
The Florida-based health care ministry was forced out of Kentucky last year by Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who ordered Medi-Share to stop operating in Kentucky. He acted at the request of the state Department of Insurance, which said the organization didn't comply with insurance regulations.
Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee and sponsor of the bill, said the legislation would allow about 800 Kentuckians to rejoin Medi-Share. It would remove Medi-Share and two similar ministries operating in Kentucky out from oversight of the insurance department.
"The Department of Insurance regulates insurance companies. This is not an insurance company," Buford told the committee. Medi-Share does not include any contractual agreement to pay medical bills, but users are matched with each other to help pay for medical expenses through community giving, according to its website.
Medi-Share's plans resembles secular insurance in some ways but only allows participation by people who pledge to live Christian lives with no smoking, drinking, using drugs or engaging in sex outside of marriage, reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The bill would require Medi-Share to tell members it's not an insurance company and does not guarantee that all medical bills would be paid, notes Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
The Rev. Dewayne Walker, pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, told the committee Medi-Share paid about $250,000 in medical bills for his wife, who had cancer. Medi-Share President Tony Meggs testified in court last year that the group has helped arrange to pay for some $25 million in medical bills for Kentuckians over the past 10 years, Alford reports.
The Florida-based health care ministry was forced out of Kentucky last year by Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who ordered Medi-Share to stop operating in Kentucky. He acted at the request of the state Department of Insurance, which said the organization didn't comply with insurance regulations.
Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee and sponsor of the bill, said the legislation would allow about 800 Kentuckians to rejoin Medi-Share. It would remove Medi-Share and two similar ministries operating in Kentucky out from oversight of the insurance department.
"The Department of Insurance regulates insurance companies. This is not an insurance company," Buford told the committee. Medi-Share does not include any contractual agreement to pay medical bills, but users are matched with each other to help pay for medical expenses through community giving, according to its website.
Medi-Share's plans resembles secular insurance in some ways but only allows participation by people who pledge to live Christian lives with no smoking, drinking, using drugs or engaging in sex outside of marriage, reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The bill would require Medi-Share to tell members it's not an insurance company and does not guarantee that all medical bills would be paid, notes Roger Alford of The Associated Press.
The Rev. Dewayne Walker, pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, told the committee Medi-Share paid about $250,000 in medical bills for his wife, who had cancer. Medi-Share President Tony Meggs testified in court last year that the group has helped arrange to pay for some $25 million in medical bills for Kentuckians over the past 10 years, Alford reports.
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Princess Health and 28% of Ky. adults 18-64 say they lack health coverage; 41% lacked it sometime in last year; employer coverage down since '08.Princessiccia
economy Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky health care access health insurance jobs poll recessionNearly three in 10 working-age adults in Kentucky are not covered by any form of health insurance, and the number who get health insurance from their employer, or their spouse�s employer, has plummeted since 2008, the first year of the Great Recession, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The decline accelerated in the last year, and was accompanied by a big jump in the percentage on public insurance.
The poll, taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14, found that 28 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 said they had no health insurance at the time they were interviewed, and 41 percent said they had been uninsured at some point in the previous year.
The survey found that 37 percent get their insurance from an employer or spouse�s employer, well below the 55 percent figure in a similar poll in 2008. Conversely, 27 percent are now covered by some form of public insurance, way up from the 10 percent in 2008.
Medicaid in Kentucky covers households with incomes up to 70 percent of the federal poverty threshold; 43 percent of working-age adults living at or below that level reported being uninsured last fall. Among those with incomes more than double the poverty level for their size household, 15 percent said they were uninsured.
The poll was conducted for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. Pollsters contacted a random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky by telephone, including landlines and cell phones. The poll questioned only working-age adults about insurance because 98 percent of seniors have some form of health coverage. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
The poll, taken Sept. 20 through Oct. 14, found that 28 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 said they had no health insurance at the time they were interviewed, and 41 percent said they had been uninsured at some point in the previous year.
The survey found that 37 percent get their insurance from an employer or spouse�s employer, well below the 55 percent figure in a similar poll in 2008. Conversely, 27 percent are now covered by some form of public insurance, way up from the 10 percent in 2008.
Medicaid in Kentucky covers households with incomes up to 70 percent of the federal poverty threshold; 43 percent of working-age adults living at or below that level reported being uninsured last fall. Among those with incomes more than double the poverty level for their size household, 15 percent said they were uninsured.
The poll was conducted for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. Pollsters contacted a random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky by telephone, including landlines and cell phones. The poll questioned only working-age adults about insurance because 98 percent of seniors have some form of health coverage. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Princess Health and Kentucky ranks 10th in nation for injury-related deaths.Princessiccia
helmets injuries injury prevention motorcycles prescription drugs seat beltsInjuries are the third leading cause of death nationally, the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44. Kentucky is among the nation's most problematic states, and it could take several more steps to prevent injuries, says a new state-by-state report on injury-prevention policy.
Kentucky ranks 10th in the nation for injury-related deaths, with a rate of 76.5 such deaths per 100,000 people, and the state spends about $26.8 million for injury-related medical expenses. New Mexico has the highest rate of injury-related deaths, 97.8 per 100,000 people, and New Jersey has the lowest at 36.1. The national rate is 57.9, so Kentucky's rate is almost a third higher than the nation.
Kentucky scored with only three of a set of 10 key indicators for injury prevention: its primary seat belt law, which most states also have; its prescription drug monitoring program, driven by heavy abuse of painkillers; and a strong law on youth sports concussions. Among the injury-prevention indicators that Kentucky lacks, it does not:
The report by the Trust for America�s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars could be saved in medical costs each year if more states adopted, implemented and enforced additional research-based injury prevention policies and programs. (Read more).
Kentucky ranks 10th in the nation for injury-related deaths, with a rate of 76.5 such deaths per 100,000 people, and the state spends about $26.8 million for injury-related medical expenses. New Mexico has the highest rate of injury-related deaths, 97.8 per 100,000 people, and New Jersey has the lowest at 36.1. The national rate is 57.9, so Kentucky's rate is almost a third higher than the nation.
Kentucky scored with only three of a set of 10 key indicators for injury prevention: its primary seat belt law, which most states also have; its prescription drug monitoring program, driven by heavy abuse of painkillers; and a strong law on youth sports concussions. Among the injury-prevention indicators that Kentucky lacks, it does not:
- Require bicycle helmets for all children.
- Require that children ride in a car seat or booster seat to at least the age of eight.
- Require helmets for all motorcycle riders. (It once did, but when the law was repealed, deaths rose 50 percent, the report says.)
- Does not require mandatory ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers.
- Does not allow people in dating relationships to get protection orders.
The report by the Trust for America�s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concludes that millions of injuries could be prevented and billions of dollars could be saved in medical costs each year if more states adopted, implemented and enforced additional research-based injury prevention policies and programs. (Read more).
Princess Health and Tips to help avoid a preventable return trip to the hospital.Princessiccia
hospitals patients preventionPatients too often leave the hospital without knowing how to care for themselves, leading to a preventable return. Here are tips to improve your chances of a successful recovery at home:
Be sure you understand your illness, and the care you received in the hospital.
Ask if you will require help at home. Can you bathe yourself? Climb stairs? Will you need bandages changed or shots? If so, do you have a caregiver to help, or will you need to arrange a visiting nurse?
Repeat back your care instructions to those who give them, to be sure you understand them.
Ask for a written discharge plan that lists your medical conditions, your treatments, and the plan for your ongoing care.
Get a list of all medications, how to use them, and what to do if you experience side effects. Be sure to ask whether to continue medications you were taking before this hospitalization.
Ask what symptoms suggest you�re getting worse and what to do if that happens, especially at night or during the weekend.
What follow-up appointments will you need and when? Ask if your hospital will make the appointments for you, and send your records.
Do you have transportation home, to follow-up appointments, and to the drugstore?
If you have a regular physician, make sure the hospital sends a report of your hospital stay.
If you are uninsured or will have difficulty affording prescriptions, a hospital discharge planner or social worker may be able to link you to community resources that can help.
Get a name and number to call if questions about your hospitalization or discharge arise.
Sources: The Associated Press; Dr. Eric Coleman, University of Colorado; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Journal of the American Medical Association.
Be sure you understand your illness, and the care you received in the hospital.
Ask if you will require help at home. Can you bathe yourself? Climb stairs? Will you need bandages changed or shots? If so, do you have a caregiver to help, or will you need to arrange a visiting nurse?
Repeat back your care instructions to those who give them, to be sure you understand them.
Ask for a written discharge plan that lists your medical conditions, your treatments, and the plan for your ongoing care.
Get a list of all medications, how to use them, and what to do if you experience side effects. Be sure to ask whether to continue medications you were taking before this hospitalization.
Ask what symptoms suggest you�re getting worse and what to do if that happens, especially at night or during the weekend.
What follow-up appointments will you need and when? Ask if your hospital will make the appointments for you, and send your records.
Do you have transportation home, to follow-up appointments, and to the drugstore?
If you have a regular physician, make sure the hospital sends a report of your hospital stay.
If you are uninsured or will have difficulty affording prescriptions, a hospital discharge planner or social worker may be able to link you to community resources that can help.
Get a name and number to call if questions about your hospitalization or discharge arise.
Sources: The Associated Press; Dr. Eric Coleman, University of Colorado; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Journal of the American Medical Association.
Princess Health and Beshear will expand Medicaid, Democrat and Republican say; D says governor believes the state can opt out if it's not affordable.Princessiccia
Affordable Care Act General Assembly health care access health care reform health insurance legislature Medicaid Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act politics state governmentState legislators in both parties say they expect Gov. Steve Beshear to expand Medicaid to cover several hundred thousand more Kentuckians who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty rate.
Rep. Tom Burch, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, told Ryan Alessi of cn|2�s "Pure Politics" that the governor told him exactly that last week. And Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, told Kentucky Health News that he expects Beshear to do the deed.
Burch told Alessi that Beshear has decided to move forward with the expansion because he believes the state would be able to opt out if state officials discover that Kentucky can�t afford it after 2017.
Beshear didn�t mention expansion in his State of the Commonwealth Address last week, and the governor�s office said the official decision hadn�t been made yet but didn�t dispute Burch�s statement, Alessi reports. Here is the salient part of his interview with Burch:
Buford said Beshear will be under much political pressure to expand Medicaid because it is President Obama's signature program and expansion will create jobs. However, Republican legislators generally have opposed the expansion of Medicaid because the state can�t afford it. The federal government will cover the cost of covering the extra people from 2014 through 2016. Kentucky would have to kick in 5 percent of the costs starting in 2017 and 10 percent by 2020.
The federal government covers roughly 70 percent of Kentucky�s $6 billion Medicaid program. It covers more than 800,000 Kentuckians and with the expansion, that number could grow to more than 1 million � or roughly a quarter of all Kentuckians, reports Alessi.
�I think it�s critical that we take a look at those to see how we achieve that. I�m not sure that this would be the way that would be best-suited to Kentucky and be fiscally responsible for the state of Kentucky,� Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville and chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, told Alessi in December (at 4:10 of the interview below). �Frankly, I don�t think we can afford to do it,� she said.
Rep. Tom Burch, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, told Ryan Alessi of cn|2�s "Pure Politics" that the governor told him exactly that last week. And Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, told Kentucky Health News that he expects Beshear to do the deed.
Burch told Alessi that Beshear has decided to move forward with the expansion because he believes the state would be able to opt out if state officials discover that Kentucky can�t afford it after 2017.
Beshear didn�t mention expansion in his State of the Commonwealth Address last week, and the governor�s office said the official decision hadn�t been made yet but didn�t dispute Burch�s statement, Alessi reports. Here is the salient part of his interview with Burch:
Buford said Beshear will be under much political pressure to expand Medicaid because it is President Obama's signature program and expansion will create jobs. However, Republican legislators generally have opposed the expansion of Medicaid because the state can�t afford it. The federal government will cover the cost of covering the extra people from 2014 through 2016. Kentucky would have to kick in 5 percent of the costs starting in 2017 and 10 percent by 2020.
The federal government covers roughly 70 percent of Kentucky�s $6 billion Medicaid program. It covers more than 800,000 Kentuckians and with the expansion, that number could grow to more than 1 million � or roughly a quarter of all Kentuckians, reports Alessi.
�I think it�s critical that we take a look at those to see how we achieve that. I�m not sure that this would be the way that would be best-suited to Kentucky and be fiscally responsible for the state of Kentucky,� Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville and chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, told Alessi in December (at 4:10 of the interview below). �Frankly, I don�t think we can afford to do it,� she said.
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