Princess Health and Religious business owners and corporations have filed half the lawsuits over health reform mandate to cover contraception.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Religious business owners and corporations have filed half the lawsuits over health reform mandate to cover contraception.Princessiccia

abortion Affordable Care Act birth control church and state contraception health care reform Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act religion

Gusty 15:57 Add Comment

By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News

Some religious business owners are filing suit against the government, saying the health-reform law violates the constitutional freedom of religion by mandating employee contraceptive and abortion-inducing drug coverage; the lawsuits are expected to land in the U.S. Supreme Court, and a case filed by Hobby Lobby is the first of this kind to be heard by a federal appeals court.

Challenges to the mandate that will require businesses with more than 50 employees to provide no-cost coverage of all contraceptives, sterilization procedures, plus education and counseling, are not just coming from Catholic entities with a religious, moral objection to contraception. About half of the cases have been filed by corporations, reports Robert Barnes of The Washington Post.

There are now 60 cases involving 190 individuals representing hospitals, universities, businesses, schools and people opposed to the mandate, says the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The Becket Fund maps the cases, as shown below; for the interactive version, click here.

Since the law mandates contraceptive coverage, groups such as Catholic bishops have accused the Obama administration of waging war on religious liberty, reports Barnes. In February, the administration announced an exemption for faith-based organizations from covering employees' contraception costs because the conceptions would be covered by a third party. Self-insured organizations like Catholic schools sued, arguing that the accommodation would not apply to them because there is no third-party insurer to cover contraception. But those cases have been dismissed in court because such organizations are given a one-year grace period to comply with the mandate, reports Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post.

Businesses don't qualify for faith-based exemption from mandates

Hobby Lobby's David and Barbara Green

Business do not meet the new exemption either, because they are not religious organizations. However, some businesses like Hobby Lobby, which was founded and is still owned by an evangelical Christian family that believes life begins at conception and already covers contraceptives through existing employee health coverage, are fighting the law's mandate to cover abortion-inducing drugs or devices, like morning-after and week-after pills.

"They ought to be able � just like a church, just like a charity � to have the right to opt out of a provision that infringes on their religious beliefs," said Kyle Duncan, who argued the case Thursday before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Green family, and a sister company, Christian booksellers Mardel Inc, reports The Associated Press.

Other suits have been filed by religious business owners of diverse enterprises, from a company that makes wooden cabinets to owners of Panera Bread restaurants, reports Barnes, but all the cases base their arguments on the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion and on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The Hobby Lobby case also specifies that the mandate violates freedom of speech and the Administrative Procedure Act because it was imposed without prior notice or sufficient time for public comment.

In the early stages of litigation, lower courts have split on the issue. Some have rejected Hobby Lobby's request for an exemption to the mandate, and requests by other businesses for a temporary injunction, saying for-profit businesses aren't covered by the faith-based exemption. However, courts in St. Louis and the Seventh Circuit have granted temporary injunctions. (Read more)

Princess Health and Website eases application process for SNAP, formerly food stamps, and promotes healthy food .Princessiccia

Princess Health and Website eases application process for SNAP, formerly food stamps, and promotes healthy food .Princessiccia

Cabinet for Health and Family Services food food security food stamps healthy food public assistance

Gusty 12:15 Add Comment

With a federal grant, the state Department for Community Based Services has launched a customer service website to promote healthy foods by assisting the families receiving food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps.

The portal allows people to check their eligibility for SNAP and apply for benefits with a shorter application that will be followed by a DCBS interview. They can also check their benefit status, report changes and receive electronic notices.

The agency says an online application eliminates any transportation issues a family may have with visiting a DCBS office, and encourages applications. �Modern improvements like this make it easier for families to apply for benefits and ultimately increase access to healthy food,� said Audrey Haynes, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which houses DCBS.

�SNAP helps people of all ages afford healthy food,� said DCBS Commissioner Teresa James. �For some of our DCBS customers, it means the difference between having a family meal or nothing at all. This website makes applying for benefits, making updates or accessing information even easier since customers don�t have to make an office appointment or even pick up the phone to get help.�

Since the portal�s launch on March 11, DCBS has received more than 1,000 electronic applications. Click here to learn more about SNAP. 

Princess Health andH+P Racing: May 25-26th, 2013.Princessiccia

Princess Health andH+P Racing: May 25-26th, 2013.Princessiccia

Gusty 08:31 Add Comment

Another great couple days for the team- here are the results:

Ottawa Half Marathon

Brendan destroyed the 1/2 marathon- opening with a 34:22 10K, and finishing in 1:15:15- good enough for 4th overall out of almost 12 000 runners, and 1st in hisAG

Sulphur Springs 25K

Val had an amazing race- despite multiple injuries, placed 3rd overall for females!

Helen also had an awesome race, placing 22nd overall for females!

Dave destroyed the 25K, placing 8th overall and 2nd in his AG with a time of 1:47!

Mike proved all his hard work is paying off- he placed 14th overall in 1:52!

Val, Helen, Dave and Mike post-race

Woodstock Triathlon

Luke had a great return to triathlons, winning his AG at the Woodstock Tri!

 Wahiawa Pineapple Run

 Jordan PB'ed in the 10K, running 37:31 and placing 3rd overall at the Wahiawa Pineapple Run

Here are some additional pics from the race weekend:

Princess Health and Health insurers could exclude one in four Americans from coverage because they don't have bank accounts .Princessiccia

Princess Health and Health insurers could exclude one in four Americans from coverage because they don't have bank accounts .Princessiccia

Affordable Care Act health care health care access health care reform Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rural-urban disparities

Gusty 09:31 Add Comment

By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. graphic

A new study says if corrective action isn't taken, health-insurance companies could exclude 27 percent of qualifying Americans now eligible for premium-assistance tax credits under the health-reform law because they plan to require customers to pay premiums automatically through a bank account. More than 1 in 4 of these people do not have a bank account.

If insurance companies won't do business with them, that will undermine efforts to expand health coverage and equalize access to health care, denying coverage to the more than 8 million "unbanked" Americans, says the report from tax firm Jackson Hewitt.

Unbanked households are those that lack any kind of deposit account, checking or savings, at an insured depository institution, so requiring a checking account for coverage could also worsen the existing disparities in both health-care access and health status of minority groups. African Americans and Hispanics are over 40 percent more likely than whites to be "unbanked," says the report.

Most health plans accept a credit card for the first month�s premium payment and thereafter require monthly payment from a checking account. An estimated 30 percent of U.S. households are "unbanked" or underbanked, with the highest rates among non-Asian minorities and lower-income, younger and unemployed households; underbanked households hold a bank account but also rely on alternative financial services, and one in five households use such check-cashing stores and money lenders instead of a traditional bank, says the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

This all goes against the basic ideals behind the health care law's "comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices. The law allows all Americans to make health insurance choices that work for them while guaranteeing access to care for our most vulnerable, and provides new ways to bring down costs and improve quality of care," says the White House website.

Law doesn't protect Americans from discrimination

Federal officials are wary taking action that may discourage insurance companies from participating in the exchanges, current and former state health officers who have pressed the U.S Department of Health and Human Services for a ruling told Varney.

�I think there is a dawning awareness that this is a large problem,� Brian Haile told Varney; Haile is senior vice president for health policy at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and has called on federal official to set a uniform standard requiring all insurers to accept all forms of payment.

Neither the health law nor other laws require insurance companies to accept all forms of payment, says Sarah Varney of Kaiser Health News. Alternative forms of payment include credit cards or pre-paid debit cards that people without bank accounts often use, and although health insurance companies are evaluating these options, they are not required to do so, reports Varney.

�I�ve not seen any specific guidance that says you have to be able to accept these types of payments,� Ray Smithberger, Cigna�s general manager of individual and family plans, told Sarah Kliff of The Washington Post.

Insurance carriers take a risk by accepting credit cards and pre-paid debit cards because transaction fees can run as high as 4 percent and pre-paid cards are popular among low-wage workers, Haile told Varney. 

�If you accept re-loadable debit cards, are you in fact getting folks with lower health status?� Haile told Varney. �That�s a real risk when you�re in the insurance business. So you can�t be the only one picking up those risks.�

The Jackson Hewitt report calls for immediate action by federal policy makers to ensure insurers cannot discriminate against the 'unbanked' through their payment acceptance policies by creating a system-wide rule requiring all forms of payment must be accepted.

"Given the dilemma presented to insurance companies by the strong financial incentives to discourage non-bank payment mechanisms, insurers are unlikely to resolve this issue without federal action," says the report.

Princess Health and Fort Campbell works to address post-traumatic stress disorder, common ailment of Afghanistan-Iraq veterans.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Fort Campbell works to address post-traumatic stress disorder, common ailment of Afghanistan-Iraq veterans.Princessiccia

Army drug treatment mental health mental illness post-traumatic stress disorder traumatic brain injuries

Gusty 12:02 Add Comment

Research shows almost 14 percent of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afganistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and as an estimated 2 million veterans are coming home, Fort Campbell has quickly acted by reaching out to the medical community in Kentucky to help address the challenges of PTSD.

Top behavioral health and brain injury research experts came to Ft. Campbell on Tuesday to teach civilian behavioral health professionals about the military's current PTSD and brain injury research and treatments, reports Kristin Hall of The Associated Press.

PTSD can be one of war's ugly side effect, and it is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event in which ther's potential for grave physical harm, such as "violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, and military combat," says the National Institute of Mental Health. Not properly treating PTSD symptoms can lead to alcohol or drug use, spouse or child abuse, depression or suicide

The clinics at Ft. Campbell will focus on PTSD and brain trauma treatment and will each have 13 mental health professionals to offer more personalized, focused care, which is expected to reduce "cases of psychiatric problems, spouse or child abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, suicides and drug use," like the pilot program at Fort Carson in Colorado, reports Adam Ghassemi of News Channel 5.

Some Kentucky veterans, like Mike Jeffrey who spoke about his physical and mental battles after his two tours in Iraq at a Veteran's Recognition Program, are addressing other problems associated with PTSD, which are that many veterans won't talk about it, and they both families and veterans lack awareness about treatment options. Jeffrey talked about the struggles he had when returning home and his "baby steps" toward normalcy.

�I woke up and had kicked down my apartment doors overnight without knowing it,� he said. �It was hell just living with myself,� reported Tracy Harris of The News Democrat. Jeffrey started counseling for his PTSD and is now using a service dog trained specifically for veterans, Seal Team.

�Seal Team is his security blanket,� said Jeffrey's wife, Shelly, who contacted four service dog organizations before finding K-9 trainer Mike Halley, a Vietnam veteran living in Florida, reports Harris. In addition to suggesting use of a service dog, Jeffrey said veterans shouldn't bury their own experience with PTSD, which many are reluctant to talk about.

�We all grew up in the suck-it-up-and-drive Army,� he said. �But you can only suck it up for so long,� said Jeffrey.

Efforts like the ones made by Ft. Campbell and Mike Jeffrey represent progress in treatment of mental health issues. And while these efforts alone won't address the problem, work within local communities can make a world of difference for struggling veterans.

Retired Maj. Gen. Mark Graham said "there is no quick way to eliminate the stigma often attached to seeking out mental health care, but the key is partnerships with the communities," writes Hall.

The story of returning veteran's is a big one that may be hard to cover, so click here for journalism tips. Click here to learn more about PTSD programs in Kentucky, or click the link below to watch news coverage about the behavioral health clinics in Ft. Campbell.

Ft. Campbell Opens Behavioral Health Clinics To Fight PTSD - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

Princess Health and Ky. is already short of doctors, dentists; how will its health-care system handle expansion of Medicaid and private insurance?.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Ky. is already short of doctors, dentists; how will its health-care system handle expansion of Medicaid and private insurance?.Princessiccia

Affordable Care Act drugs General Assembly health reform Medicaid nurse practitioners Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act physician recruitment physicians

Gusty 05:26 Add Comment

By Molly Burchett and Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

In the wake of Gov. Steve Beshear�s recent decision to expand Medicaid under federal health reform, there is concern that Kentucky's health-care system will not be able to care for the newly insured.

Health reform means that an estimated 308,000 new Kentuckians will qualify for Medicaid, and 332,000 more will qualify for subsidies to buy private insurance through the state insurance exchange that will start taking enrollments Oct. 1.

But Kentucky already has a health care provider shortage, especially in rural areas. A study for the state estimates that it needs 3,790 more doctors just to meet current demand, to say nothing of what will be needed to care for those who haven't been a regular part of the health-care system, reports Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal.

The report by Deloitte Consulting made 11 recommendations, including authority for nurse practitioners to prescribe less risky drugs without a written agreement with a doctor, and one that would be even more controversial, putting limits on medical malpractice awards, said Ungar.

The report also recommended expanding and increasing Medicaid reimbursements in rural areas, to encourage more physicians to take Medicaid patients.

It did not mention complaints by health-care  providers about getting paid by the managed-care Medicaid system that the state began in November 2011; Gov. Steve Beshear said when he announced Medicaid expansion that those problems are being worked out.

"Consultants said 61 percent of the 3,790 'full-time equivalent' physicians needed (which includes primary care doctors and specialists) were in rural counties," reports Ungar. Jonathan Felix of Deloitte said, �Primary care, dental care and behavioral health are all big needs in the state.�

The report said the state needed 183 more primary-care doctors, even before Medicaid expansion, but a 2012 Kentucky Physician Workforce Needs Assessment report by the University of Kentucky said the state needs 557 more primary-care physicians and 1,655 more total physicians to meet the national ratios for physicians to population.

The consultants said the state already needs 612 more dentists. It now has 1,711.

Complicated provider shortage problem, no easy answer

About 192 federally identified areas in Kentucky � including 47 counties � have shortages of health professionals, Ungar reports. Kentucky counties who will have the most non-elderly residents eligible for Medicaid often have fewer primary-care doctors per person, according to data analyzed by The Courier-Journal. Ungar notes that Casey County, for example, ranks in the bottom third for doctors per capita, but it has the highest portion of newly eligible residents at 13.5 percent.

�We can�t grow physicians fast enough to meet the need, in the rural areas especially,� Susan Zepeda, president and chief executive officer for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, told Ungar.

Nationally, there is a primary-care shortage, partly because such doctors make less money than most, and low reimbursement rates exacerbate that. A 2012 study in the journal Health Affairs said 21 percent of office-based physicians in Kentucky did not accept new Medicaid patients in 2011, Ungar notes.

The health reform law will raise the Medicaid fees to match what Medicare pays primary-care doctors, but only for two years. Kentucky's Medicare rates are about 72 percent of the Medicare rates, compared to a national average of 59 percent, says an Urban Institute study. But the time limit leaves some practitioners wary.

�If I choose to increase the number of Medicaid patients, and two years down the road that payment drops back to two-thirds, all of a sudden I�m going to have an awful lot of trouble keeping my doors open,� Reid Blackwelder, a family practitioner and incoming president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told Michael Ollove of Stateline. 

A report last year by the non-partisan Center for Studying Health System Change said the temporary nature of the pay raise could limit its effectiveness, particularly in Kentucky and other states that are expecting the largest percentage increases in Medicaid enrollees and that have low numbers of primary-care physicians.

�I�m not sure who�s going to pick up all those patients into their practices,� Julianne Ewen, a nurse practitioner in Lexington and president of the Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives, told Ungar. Legislation to let nurse practitioners prescribe non-scheduled drugs without a doctor agreement failed in the state Senate this year.

While some policy analysts have touted nurse practitioners as a solution to the rural primary-care shortage because they often provide primary care in rural and isolated areas that do not have doctors nearby, they would not be covered by the two-year reimbursement increase. Ewen said the reimbursement is only $23 for a lower-level visit by an established patient.

A possible long-term solution includes greater reliance on community health centers, some say. And hospital officials said they plan to continue expanding primary care and employ telemedicine. Ruth Brinkley, president and chief executive officer of KentuckyOne Health, said her system is looking to open new primary care offices and hire more staff.

Dr. David Dunn, vice president for health affairs at the University of Louisville, said the university is increasing physician training in such areas as family medicine and geriatrics and using funds from its new partner, KentuckyOne, to expand the nursing work force with professionals, such as advanced nurse practitioners.

Health providers and advocates agree that getting more people insured should produce a healthier population in the end. But they said much remains unknown, including how many of those eligible for coverage under health reform will sign up for it. The state estimates that 188,000 of the 308,000 newly eligible will enroll, but some think that estimate is low.

Princess Health andH+P Racing: May 18th-20th, 2013.Princessiccia

Princess Health andH+P Racing: May 18th-20th, 2013.Princessiccia

Gusty 09:09 Add Comment

Once again, another huge week of racing for the H+P team.  Here are the highlights!

Victoria's Duathlon

Ed Cyr had a great race, finishing 4th overall, and winning is AG
Florian Ong performed extremely well, placing 7th overall and 3rd in his AG
Vance Lai had a great return to action, placing 54th overall and 13th in his AG
Kevin Grotheer put together a good result despite a winter away from training, placing 10th in his AG

Horseshoe Lake 50K
H+P TT record holder, Lucas, WON this event by over 15 minutes.  WOW!

24-Hour World Championships
This result actually took place the weekend of May 11th-12th, but a HUGE congrats goes out to Charlotte Vasarhelyi, who covered just under 194K in very tough conditions.  This distance was good enough for breaking into the top 60 in the world!