Weekly Health News Roundup

Co-pay assistance often helps patients afford their needed medications. Unfortunately, an unfair insurance practice called “co-pay accumulator adjustments” are double-charging patients for their medications, making it nearly impossible for some patients to afford health care. 

In 2020, a record of 81,000 overdose deaths were reported within a 12-month period in the United States— a 38 percent increase from 2019, according to the CDC. The head of Kentucky’s Drug Enforcement Agency says the opioid epidemic has “only gotten worse in the shadows of COVID-19.”

Gov. Beshear has requested the federal government to double the amount of vaccines Kentucky receives each week, because he said, the state has proven it can effectively get the vaccines out each week. He also wants to avoid days where there are no vaccinations to give out. 

People eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in phase 1B, which includes people age 70 and older, K-12 personnel and first responders, can sign up for a vaccination at certain Baptist Health hospital locations across the state, including Lexington. 

Gov. Andy Beshear says January is on track to be the deadliest month for COVID-19 in Kentucky. There were 754 deaths in December and January has already seen 581 deaths, with more than a third of the month left. 

UofL Health is opening five urgent care locations across Louisville to increase access to affordable health care and provide more convenient hours across the community. 

Kentucky sets Maternal Health Awareness Day on Jan. 23rd in an effort to educate and to reduce pregnancy-related deaths.