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Tuesday, 5 April 2016

Princess Health and April 5th, 2016 I'm Going To Be On The Today Show!. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 5th, 2016 I'm Going To Be On The Today Show!. Princessiccia

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April 5th, 2016 I'm Going To Be On The Today Show!

I'll never forget the excitement I felt on the evening of November 12th, 2010, when I found this in my email:

Hi Sean,

My name is Michelle and I am an Associate Producer for The Rachael Ray Show.  I came across your blog and would love to talk to you more about your amazing story.  If you could please call me at ***-***-**** or leave a number where you can be reached at, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks so much and I look forward to speaking with you!

Best,
Michelle

My brain immediately starting racing into all the possibilities this might create. I was four days away from hitting my initial goal of 230 pounds and wow, what perfect timing, I thought. I couldn't call her fast enough, so the next day--after telling pretty much every family member, friend and casual acquaintance about how "I might be on Rachael Ray," I made the call.

She asked a lot of questions and I gave a lot of detailed answers. She then explained a little about the idea for a segment and how my participation might work well. Then... nothing.

Days passed, then a week--then two--and the questions from family and friends came, "Hey Sean, when will you be on The Rachael Ray Show?" Uhg... I shouldn't have said a word!!

Naturally, I blamed myself. Then, I proceeded to torture myself with thoughts of what did I say? Did I come on too strong? Maybe it's because my approach isn't attached to a big plan/system/product or maybe my philosophical explanations of the perspective shifts I implemented were just too much--maybe I sounded crazy!!!! Oh, I bet that was it-- I sounded like an overly passionate lunatic!!

Life Coach Gerri Helms came to my emotional rescue with some sound advice and perspective. I don't remember the exact quote, but I'll paraphrase-- Let it go. Whatever happened very likely had zero to do with you. They probably ditched the segment idea and you were no longer needed. Don't take it personal. Stop that. Yeah--it was something very close to that right there.

It's now over five years later. And the truth, in hindsight: I wasn't ready for that show in any way, shape or form. I hit goal and found that the very thing I thought would "make me happy," didn't.

My perspective, my expectations, my focus--was all wrong. I still had much to learn--and I'm still learning to this day--that doesn't stop, ever. 

I had a year and a half of maintenance in front of me. I also had what has turned out to be the best thing I could have experienced--The humbling of a one hundred sixty-four pound regain. Yes, you read that correctly-- the best thing.

What I learned about myself during that period and what I've learned throughout the last two years of this turnaround from relapse/regain, has provided me the most beautiful gifts. I restocked my toolbox with some different tools. I've experienced epiphanies on self-worth/identity that continue to resonate in life changing ways, every single day. The fact of me being at a weight more than twenty pounds less than my initial goal--a weight I haven't experienced since ten years old, is really the least of my blessings.

I'm no longer searching for validation, acceptance and love--because I found it. Funny, it was within me the whole time--but I was convinced I had to find it externally. It's like searching for lost keys only to find them later, in your pocket.

(For more about "epiphany day" and the "secret of happiness,"--read the archived entries from May 15th and May 19th, 2014)

Now, my perspective is very different. And that's a very good--and an emotionally healthy thing. Now, when things come my way--I don't approach them the same way. For instance...

The Today Show called yesterday. After three relatively short conversations, they invited me to be on the show Monday April 11th. The flight was booked today.

I'm honored to be invited into Joy Bauer's Joy Fit Club! I am super excited, as you might imagine!!

But I'm also grounded. And that's refreshing.

It will not be about my book or blog--and I don't expect that at all. It's about The Joy Fit Club--my story and a few minutes of questions, answers and maybe some kind of cool visual aid display. There will be dramatic "before and now" pictures--and I'll be right there, in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, taking it all in with an excited calm and clarity.

My expectations are as follows: A free trip to New York. A driver holding a sign with my name on it at the airport (I've always wanted to experience that), a nice hotel room and an appearance on an amazing show. That's it.

It's an honor to be invited and I'm immensely grateful for the opportunity! I still can't believe it! You know, I've watched others on this segment, some I know from the world of weight loss blogging --and it's always fun, and I'm always so happy for them. And now I'll get to see what it's like, firsthand!

I'm thrilled. Holy crap--I'm gonna be on The Today Show!!
------------------
Today was a great day in many ways. I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, I prepared some fantastic food, I remained abstinent from refined sugar, I exceeded my water goal, I had a great workout, I was active in one on one and group support interactions--and I had a very productive day at the studio. I'm hitting the pillow feeling the peace and contentment of another solid day. I'll do my best at aiming for the same, tomorrow!

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:






































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and What is more important in healthcare, computers, or nurses and other human beings? Southcoast Health cutting dozens of jobs on heels of expensive IT upgrade. Princessiccia

Princess Health and What is more important in healthcare, computers, or nurses and other human beings? Southcoast Health cutting dozens of jobs on heels of expensive IT upgrade. Princessiccia

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That I even have to ask the question on the title of this post is a tragedy and a scandal.

I've written a number of posts on this blog about hospitals laying off staff and even put in financial jeopardy due to EHR implementation, e.g., my June 2, 2014 post "In Fixing Those 9,553 EHR "Issues", Southern Arizona�s Largest Health Network is $28.5 Million In The Red" at http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-fixing-those-9553-ehr-issues.html and numerous others indexed under "healthcare IT costs" at query link http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/search/label/healthcare%20IT%20cost. 

This often occurs due to poor project planning, overconfidence, underestimation of complexity and even incompetence, that drives up electronic records system costs way over estimates. 

It's happened again:


Southcoast Health cutting dozens of jobs on heels of expensive IT upgrade
Mar 30, 2016, 11:25am EDT
Updated Mar 30, 2016, 11:31am EDT
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/health-care/2016/03/southcoast-health-cutting-dozens-of-jobs-on-heels.html

Stung by losses linked to costly technology upgrades, Southcoast Health is laying off 95 employees just a year after finalizing a similar staffing cut.

The cuts represent 1 percent of Southcoast�s 7,251 workforce, and will happen across the care provider's three hospitals in Fall River, Wareham and New Bedford. All levels of hospital staff will be affected, officials said.

Southcoast employees were notified of the cut Wednesday morning. The cuts come as the hospital negotiates a merger with Care New England, a four-hospital system in Rhode Island.

The care provider said the cuts stemmed from training costs associated with the installation of a $100 million records system, known as Epic. Similar operating challenges have been reported by other Massachusetts care providers in the midst of Epic upgrades and installations.

I note that $100 million can purchase an entire new hospital wing or facility.

Training costs, of all things, should have been factored into the original project plans.  It's not as if this issue is an unknown in an industry and product extant for several decades now.

Also, IMO the word "challenges" should be altered to "challenged" to describe the institutional geniuses responsible for debacles like this.

Training costs for the system, which went live in October, contributed to a $9.9 million operating loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, which ended Dec. 31. Hospital executives said similar expenses have impacted the bottom line in the current quarter, which ends Thursday.

So, training costs for the EHR devoured profits from an increasing revenue stream as below, plus consumed enough to leave a near $10 million loss. Stunning.

�These financial challenges are attributable to higher-than-budgeted operating expenses, largely a result of our Epic implementation,� said Southcoast president and CEO Keith Hovan, in a letter to employees. �During the first two quarters of this fiscal year, revenue has grown positively at a rate of 4 percent � a significant accomplishment, particularly given the lack of a flu season. However, expenses have grown at 6 percent during that time, which is an untenable variance that must be corrected.�

I note that the hospital system might have realized their cost underestimations via reading the literature a bit, including but not limited to my completely free academic site at http://cci.drexel.edu/faculty/ssilverstein/cases (in existence in various flavors since 1998), and this very blog.

Hovan went on to ask employees for recommendations to reduce costs, going so far as to tell employees to reach out to him directly.

How about reducing IT expenditure and laying off IT personnel responsible for the cost underestimates?  Costing is supposed to be a core competence of management information systems (MIS) personnel in those IT departments.

... Approximately 70 people were let go in October 2014, and another 35 were let go in January 2015.

The hospital still has 339 job openings for a number of clinical roles. Cohenno wouldn�t detail what kinds of jobs the hospital was eliminating, but said employees affected by today�s layoffs will be encouraged to apply to open positions.

Some consolation for being fired to maintain the good health of a computer.

The solution to this problem is for hospital executives to actually learn more about what they're getting into in HIT acquisition, implementation and operation, instead of simply believing the marketing hype coming from the HIT industry and its cybernetic hyper-enthusiasts.

That means reading far more than typical industry marketing BS, a.k.a. performing robust due diligence.

-- SS
Princess Health and 10 common misconceptions about cancer and the environment . Princessiccia

Princess Health and 10 common misconceptions about cancer and the environment . Princessiccia

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With the advent of the internet, people are swamped with information about cancer and some of it is not based on "sound scientific evidence" or is "at best, anecdotal," which can "hamper efforts to prevent and treat" it, reports Curt DellaValle, a cancer epidemiologist and senior scientist at Environmental Working Group. He writes about some of the most common misconceptions about cancer:

Misconception #1: Getting cancer is almost completely out of your control: DellaValle recognizes that some cancers are caused by genetics and "bad luck" and notes that the World Health Organization reports that 20 percent of cancers are thought to be caused by environmental factors such as pollution, infections and radiation, but he also says "as many as half of cancers may be preventable," noting that smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise are major contributors.

Misconception #2: �Everything� causes cancer: "Not all chemicals, pollutants or guilty pleasures will lead to cancer," DellaValle writes, while also noting that the amount of exposure to the carcinogen plays a role. "The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a research arm of the WHO, has looked into nearly a thousand suspected causes of cancer. Of those suspicious substances and activities, they have concluded that just about half are known or potentially carcinogenic.

Misconception #3: Exposure to a known carcinogen will give you cancer: "Known carcinogens" are substances that have strong evidence that they can cause cancer, but  it is important to recognize that the risk between them differs. "A person exposed to a known carcinogen is not 100 percent certain to develop cancer, not by a long shot," DellaValle writes. For example, he writes that  there is a difference between asbestos exposure, a potent carcinogen, and eating processed meats, which is also a known carcinogen, but one that only modestly increases your chances of getting cancer.

Misconception #4: Natural products are safe and synthetic products are harmful: DellaValle writes that "arsenic, asbestos, formaldehyde, radiation and tobacco occur naturally and are known carcinogens." His advice is to "arm yourself with information" and "know what you're buying and don't assume everything that says 'natural' is harmless."

Misconception #5: Chemicals that the body absorbs and retains for a long time are more dangerous than those that are quickly excreted or metabolized: "The hazard of a substance is determined not just by the degree of exposure but also how it interacts with the body," he writes. For example, nitrates and nitrites in food and water can change into compounds that cause cancer in the body, while chemicals that are excreted quickly, like pesticides and heavy metals, can also cause cancer.

Misconception #6: The cancer risk you accumulate is irreversible: DellaValle writes that certain harmful exposures, like to radiation, does not allow full recovery, but damage from many environmental exposures can be partly reversed with elimination or significantly reducing the exposure. "The Surgeon General�s report on tobacco concluded that quitting smoking at any age reduces a smoker�s risk of cancer by up to 50 percent in just five to 10 years," he writes.

Misconception  #7: Mammograms cause breast cancer: "The risk with the very small amount of radiation emitted during a mammogram is minuscule for most patients," he writes. However, "women who are pregnant should avoid mammograms and X-rays that their doctors don�t consider necessary. Radiation could harm the developing fetus."

Misconception #8: Cell phones, wi-fi, microwaves, power lines and airport X-ray machines will cause cancer: DellaValle writes that cell phones, wi-fi, microwaves and power lines "emit non-ionizing radiation" and is less invasive than "ionizing radiation" that comes from  X-rays, sunlight and uranium. The WHO considers cell phone radiation a possible carcinogen "based on a suspected association between cell phone use and brain cancer,: DellaValle recommends holing your  phones a few millimeters away from your body to "drastically reduce exposure" or use hands-free devices and texting. He does say that it is a good idea to keep wireless routers a few feet from places where people spend long periods of time, though he notes that there is little or no evidence to support that wi-fi signals cause cancer. He also notes that it would take about 1,000 trips through an airport X-ray scanner to equal the radiation exposure from one medical chest X-ray.

Misconception #9: Artificial turf sports fields cause cancer: The jury is out on this one. DellaValle says, "No data exists at this time to say that artificial turf causes cancer, but scientists are just beginning to explore the question. In the meantime, you should play on artificial turf in well-ventilated areas, avoid hand-to-mouth contact while playing and limit direct contact between turf and skin."

Misconception #10: Residential pesticides are safe: DellaValle writes that many of the pesticides suspected to cause cancer in farm workers are being sold for residential use and notes that some evidence exists that they increase the risk of cancer. While recognizing that  homes would use these products less often and at a lower dose, he did caution to not use them around children or pregnant women. He noted that studies have found that children exposed to pesticides while in the womb and in infancy face an increased risk of childhood cancers like leukemia and brain tumors.

Monday, 4 April 2016

Princess Health and April 4th, 2016 An Assignment. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 4th, 2016 An Assignment. Princessiccia

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April 4th, 2016 An Assignment

I spent most of the evening working on an assignment associated with a very big announcement I'll be making as soon as possible! I'm super excited. As soon as I get the green light to mention it here and on my other social media platforms, I will.

Today, I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget. I remained abstinent from refined sugar, I exceeded my water goal and I remained in active support communications. It was a very good day!

Letting the Tweets take it the rest of the way.

My Tweets Today:






























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean

Princess Health and Struggling Tenn. hospital takes care of Kentuckians, who get better care than Tennesseans thanks to expanded Medicaid. Princessiccia

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Jellico Community Hospital, just across the Kentucky border in Tennessee along Interstate 75, was taken over by Community Hospital Corp. last May, but that's not a guarantee it will survive, especially since Tennessee refuses to expand Medicaid to its poorest citizens, as Kentucky has, Harris Meyer reports for Modern Healthcare.

Meyer notes that one of the contributing factors to the hospital's struggle is the Tennessee Legislature's refusal to expand Medicaid under health reform to those who make up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That would decrease the hospital's level of uncompensated care.

About half the hospital's patients come from Kentucky, and its administrators, doctors and nurses all told Meyer that it is easier to get testing and specialty care for Kentucky Medicaid patients than for uninsured Tennessee patients who would qualify for expanded Medicaid.

�We're able to do more for Kentucky patients,� Christy Elliott, the hospital's case management supervisor, told Meyer. �For Tennessee patients, it's a struggle. If you don't have insurance, you don't get services.�

One such patient was Rebecca Jarboe, a mother of three from Kentucky. She told Meyer that she went into a "difficult" labor during a snowstorm on Valentine's Day. Because of the weather and her condition, she said she and her husband decided to travel 14 miles from their home to Jellico to have the baby, instead of making the 70-mile-journey down I-75 to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, 20 miles of which would have been over snow-covered Pine Mountain (known locally as Jellico Mountain).

�The care here is excellent,� a tired-looking Jarboe told Meyer while lying in her hospital bed cradling 2-day-old Silas and surrounded by her family. �Whatever you need, they are right at the door, and everyone is really friendly.�

The 31 states that have expanded Medicaid have been able to "shore up finances" in many of their rural hospitals, Meyer writes, but others have not fared so well. Nationwide, more than 50 rural hospitals have closed in the past six years, and nearly 300 more are in deep financial trouble, according to the National Rural Health Association.

A state report by then-Auditor Adam Edelen last year found that one in three of Kentucky's rural hospitals were in poor financial condition. Since the release of the report, several Kentucky rural hospitals have merged with larger hospital groups to make ends meet and rural hospitals in Nicholas and Fulton counties have closed.

Meyer also notes that Jellico hospital's problems go deeper than just not expanding Medicaid. In its service area good-paying jobs with health benefits have dwindled, only 10 percent of the population has private health insurance, residents have higher-than-average rates of disease, and there is rampant obesity and drug abuse. A similar story could be told about many rural Kentucky communities.

In addition to providing health care, the 54-bed hospital with its staff of 232 is the community's largest employer, as is often the case. The mayor of nearby Williamsburg, where the hospital has a clinic, noted that new businesses will often not consider moving to a community without a hospital.

�A lot depends on economic development in these communities,� Alison Davis, a professor of agricultural economics who studies rural healthcare at the University of Kentucky, told Meyer. �What are they going to do to create jobs? It's the No. 1 issue besides substance abuse they are facing. It's a struggle, and not every community will make it through.�

Adventist Health System, out of Florida, announced in May 2014 that it wanted to get rid of the hospital because it was losing "millions a year." A year later, CHC, a Texas-based not-for-profit with a mission to preserve access to healthcare in rural communities, took over the hospital and its clinic. CHC owns, manages and provides support to 21 community hospitals nationwide, according to a news release.

CHC told Meyer that it is optimistic the hospital will survive because of the medical staff's commitment to keeping quality healthcare in their community. It has also implemented cost-saving measures, like decreasing staff and installing a less costly electronic health record system, and is exploring ways to further save money, while increasing its client base.

But several local business leaders told Meyer they weren't so sure the hospital will survive.

�There have been so many layoffs that they don't have enough people to do lab work or X-rays, and you have to wait and wait,� Elsie Crawford, business manager of the Wilkens Medical Group in Jellico and a member of the City Council, told Meyer. �You can't draw more patients if you don't have enough people to take care of them.�

Dr. Charles Wilkens, who helped establish and maintain the hospital, told Meyer, �People would die for lack of health care if we didn't have a hospital in this community.�

Sunday, 3 April 2016

Princess Health and April 3rd, 2016 A Good Thing. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 3rd, 2016 A Good Thing. Princessiccia

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April 3rd, 2016 A Good Thing

I enjoyed a very nice, relaxed Sunday--and I must say, it was wonderful. I had a chance to hang out with my grandson, too--and that's always fun! I made extra rest important today. After the last several days, it was certainly needed.

I finished today within my calorie budget. I prepared three great meals, enjoyed some wonderful coffee and remained abstinent from refined sugar. I started the day with my morning 'before coffee' routine of water and push-ups--and starting in the morning, I'm adding another short set of something--I haven't decided exactly what. Probably planks, wall-sits or squats.

I'm looking forward to the new week. It'll be a busy one--but not anywhere near the hectic pace of last week. And that's a good thing.

I'm opting for the Tweets to take me the rest of the way on this post. Goodnight! Or, uh--good morning, or day--or whatever it is for you, right now!

Today's Tweets:




























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and Legislature's many health bills include some with life-saving potential, better prevention, greater access and help for children. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Legislature's many health bills include some with life-saving potential, better prevention, greater access and help for children. Princessiccia

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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

One paragraph in this story was incorrect and has been stricken.

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky legislators have all but ended their regular session without agreeing on a budget, but were able to pass a wide range of health bills that await Gov. Matt Bevin's signature or veto.

Legislators can still pass more bills, including a budget, when they return for one day, April 12, and reconsider any bills the governor vetoes (except the budget, if one passes that day).

Many of the health bills deal with regulation, such as which agency oversees home medical equipment and licensing rules for physicians. Others, like SB 211, sponsored by Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, establish a special day to encourage research for amytrophic lateral sclerosis by officially naming Feb. 21 "ALS Awareness Day."

But several others will impact the daily lives of Kentuckians, directly or indirectly. Some have the potential to save lives.

Senate Bill 33, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, requires every Kentucky high-school student to receive compression-only CPR training. "Each year nearly 424,000 people have sudden cardiac arrest outside of the hospital and only 10 percent of those victims survive," Wise said at a Jan. 13 Senate Health and Welfare Committee meeting. "Yet when a CPR trained bystander is near, they can double or triple these victims survival rate."

Another bill with life-saving potential would let Kentuckians take time off work to be "living donors" or donate bone marrow without the risk of losing jobs or income. House Bill 19, sponsored by Rep. Ron Crimm, R-Louisville, requires paid leave of absence for such reasons, and offsets this cost to the employer with tax credits.

(An amendment to this bill, illustrating how legislation gets passed in unusual ways during the closing days, would allow Lexington to impose an additional 2.5 percent hotel-room tax to improve its convention center.)

A minor housekeeping bill had an important health amendment attached to it that mandates assisted-living communities to provide residents with educational information about the flu by Sept 1 of each year. SB 22 is sponsored by Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester. The CDC estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths occur in people over 65.

Colon cancer, which kills more than 850 Kentuckians a year, remained in the spotlight with passage of HB115, sponsored by Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville. It would expand eligibility for screenings to age-eligible, under-insured Kentuckians, or uninsured persons deemed at high risk for the disease. This bill is aimed at the 7 percent of Kentuckians who have remained uninsured since the state expanded Medicaid under federal health reform, and those who have insurance but can't afford deductibles or co-payments.

Other bills intended to create better access to care for Kentuckians would expand the duties of advanced practice registered nurses (SB114); decrease the oversight of physician's assistants (SB154); create a pilot program to study telehealth and how it's paid for (HB 95); and better define who can perform administrative duties in pharmacies (HB 527).

Children: "Noah's Law," or SB 193, sponsored by Alvarado, mandates the coverage of amino-acid-based formulas for eosinophilic esophagitis and other digestive disorders. It will have an impact on more than 200 Kentucky families. It is called "Noah's Law" after 9-year-old Noah Greenhill of Pike County who suffers from the disease, which requires him to get this formula through a feeding tube four times a day because of severe food allergies, at a daily cost of more than $40. This bill has already been signed by the governor and took effect immediately.

HB148, sponsored by Rep. Linda Belcher, D-Shepherdsville, allows day-care centers to be able to obtain and store epinephrine auto-injectors for emergency use. This bill was amended to include "participating places of worship" as a location that newborns up to 30 days old can be left without threat of prosecution to the parent or family member who leaves them there.

The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that one in 68 of the nation's children have autism, and Kentucky legislators passed two bills this session to address their needs. SB 185, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, creates the Office of Autism and guidelines for an Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders. This bill has already been signed by the governor. HB 100, sponsored by House Minority Leader Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, requires insurers to maintain a website to provide information for filing claims on autism coverage and make autism-benefit liaisons available to facilitate communications with policyholders.

Big bills: One of the high-profile health bills that passed this session is SB20, sponsored by Alvarado, which creates a third-party appeals process for providers to appeal denied Medicaid claims. Alvarado has said that 20 percent of Medicaid claims are denied, compared to the national average of around 6 percent. He suggest that bringing this bill will help bring these numbers more in line with each other and thus will encourage more providers to participate in Medicaid.

A bill that will eventually increase accessibility to drugs made from living tissues that are very expensive, but also very effective, also passed. SB 134, sponsored by Alvarado, would allow pharmacists to substitute a less-expensive "interchangeable biosimilar" drug for its name-brand "biologic" one, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved these interchangeables yet. Humira and Remicade for arthritis, and Enbrel for psoriasis, are a few of the most common biologics on the market.

Another bill is aimed to help small-town pharmacies stay competitive with chains. SB 117, sponsored by Wise, allows the state Insurance Department to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, like Express Scripts, much like insurance companies. It would also provide an appeal mechanism to resolve pricing disputes between pharmacies and PBMs. The state has more than 500 independent pharmacists that will be affected by this law.

Bigger issues: Health officials say the single most important thing that Kentucky can do to improve the state's health at no cost is to pass a statewide smoking ban for workplaces. Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, filed a smoke-free bill late in the session that didn't even get a hearing in committee, despite having passed the House last year. Bevin opposes a statewide ban.

Adams and Alvarado filed a bill to require insurance companies to pay for all evidence-based smoking cessation treatments in hopes of decreasing the state's smoking rate, but it was filed late in the session and only brought up for discussion.

Democratic Rep. David Watkins, a retired physician from Henderson, filed three bills to decrease smoking in the state: one to increase the cigarette tax, one to raise the legal age for buying tobacco products to to 21, and one to require retail outlets to conceal tobacco products until a customer requests them. All were to no avail.

Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, filed bills to continue the Kynect health-insurance exchange and the state's current expansion of the federal-state Medicaid program. The bills passed mostly among party lines in the House, but the Senate has not voted on them as Senate President Robert Stivers said he would if the House did.
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