Poll shows strong support for medical marijuana in Kentucky

A statewide poll has found that 78 percent of Kentucky adults support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes if recommended by their doctor, while only 26 percent of favor it for recreational purposes.

There were no significant differences in the poll results among the regions of the state on the medical-marijuana question, but on the recreational-use question, the Louisville area and Northern Kentucky were more likely to favor it, at about 37 percent. For geographic and demographic breakdowns of the poll results, click here.

Nationally, 17 states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana, and three states have recently legalized it for recreational use.

“Our Kentucky Health Issues Poll is designed to be informative to Kentucky policymakers,” said Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll. “Over the past several years, bills dealing with legalization of marijuana have been filed in the Kentucky General Assembly. This research gives policymakers a snapshot of Kentuckians’ views on this issue and should be helpful as lawmakers consider issues for the 2014 legislative session.”

For years, Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, has introduced bills in the Kentucky Senate aimed to legalize medical marijuana. Although the bills, referred to as The Gatewood Galbraith Medical Marijuana Memorial Act, gained media coverage in the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions, they have not received a committee hearing and have not passed.

The poll was funded by the foundation and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and was conducted last year from Sept. 20 to Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

A statewide poll has found that 78 percent of Kentucky adults support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes if recommended by their doctor, while only 26 percent of favor it for recreational purposes.

There were no significant differences in the poll results among the regions of the state on the medical-marijuana question, but on the recreational-use question, the Louisville area and Northern Kentucky were more likely to favor it, at about 37 percent. For geographic and demographic breakdowns of the poll results, click here.

Nationally, 17 states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana, and three states have recently legalized it for recreational use.

“Our Kentucky Health Issues Poll is designed to be informative to Kentucky policymakers,” said Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll. “Over the past several years, bills dealing with legalization of marijuana have been filed in the Kentucky General Assembly. This research gives policymakers a snapshot of Kentuckians’ views on this issue and should be helpful as lawmakers consider issues for the 2014 legislative session.”

For years, Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, has introduced bills in the Kentucky Senate aimed to legalize medical marijuana. Although the bills, referred to as The Gatewood Galbraith Medical Marijuana Memorial Act, gained media coverage in the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions, they have not received a committee hearing and have not passed.

The poll was funded by the foundation and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and was conducted last year from Sept. 20 to Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

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Opportunity for news stories: New federal rules mean all nonprofit hospitals must do a community health needs assessment

It's long been the rule that nonprofit hospitals have had to provide charitable benefits to their community in order to keep their nonprofit status. That's no small matter, given that 60 percent of the nation's almost 3,000 hospitals are nonprofits and those tax benefits equal $12.6 billion annually. The benefits those hospitals provide have usually come in form of care for those unable to afford it, but it's unclear how, and how much, hospitals spend on community benefits has led to increased oversight by the Internal Revenue Service and Congress.

This year, there's a new kink for nonprofit hospitals and one that is important to every community those hospitals serve -- and a golden opportunity for every news outlet that reports on them. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires each nonprofit hospital to conduct a community health needs assessment, which must include a wide variety of community stakeholder input, prioritize needs, and eventually, when completed, be made widely available to the public. As explained by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the assessment does more. It "offers an opportunity for the entire community to work together to collectively improve health." Participants can include health systems, health departments and other government agencies, community organizations, employers, the faith community, the United Way and other non-profits, local funding organizations, academic institutions, and other community leaders.

To read the issue brief and find more resources about the benefit and programs associated with it, go here.

It's long been the rule that nonprofit hospitals have had to provide charitable benefits to their community in order to keep their nonprofit status. That's no small matter, given that 60 percent of the nation's almost 3,000 hospitals are nonprofits and those tax benefits equal $12.6 billion annually. The benefits those hospitals provide have usually come in form of care for those unable to afford it, but it's unclear how, and how much, hospitals spend on community benefits has led to increased oversight by the Internal Revenue Service and Congress.

This year, there's a new kink for nonprofit hospitals and one that is important to every community those hospitals serve -- and a golden opportunity for every news outlet that reports on them. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires each nonprofit hospital to conduct a community health needs assessment, which must include a wide variety of community stakeholder input, prioritize needs, and eventually, when completed, be made widely available to the public. As explained by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the assessment does more. It "offers an opportunity for the entire community to work together to collectively improve health." Participants can include health systems, health departments and other government agencies, community organizations, employers, the faith community, the United Way and other non-profits, local funding organizations, academic institutions, and other community leaders.

To read the issue brief and find more resources about the benefit and programs associated with it, go here.

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Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid

Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor and disabled, but that the expansion itself is constitutional.

Yesterday, both Gov. Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams both indicated they are researching how Kentucky should proceed.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said "many states, maybe most, will decide that they simply cannot afford to choose to expand Medicaid." Though the federal government will pay for the newly eligible enrollees for several years after the law takes effect in 2014, states will eventually have to pay 10 percent of the cost.

Despite the expected cost, Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, predicts that "only a small number of states" will pass up the opportunity to expand, given the federal government's generous offer, reports Robert Pear for The New York Times.

The Medicaid expansion is central to the health care law, since about 17 million of the 30 million Americans who will newly qualify for health insurance will do so under Medicaid. In Kentucky, that translates to 280,000 more people enrolling in the program.

Senior administration officials said they feel sure states will choose to expand Medicaid, but Republican governors like Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Bob McDonnell in Virginia would not commit either way. Daniels said the expansion would cost Indiana $2 billion in the next 10 years.

And though U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is one of the authors of the new law, he was not sure his own state would opt to expand. He did call the offer of federal assistance "a big juicy carrot." (Read more)

Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor and disabled, but that the expansion itself is constitutional.

Yesterday, both Gov. Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams both indicated they are researching how Kentucky should proceed.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said "many states, maybe most, will decide that they simply cannot afford to choose to expand Medicaid." Though the federal government will pay for the newly eligible enrollees for several years after the law takes effect in 2014, states will eventually have to pay 10 percent of the cost.

Despite the expected cost, Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, predicts that "only a small number of states" will pass up the opportunity to expand, given the federal government's generous offer, reports Robert Pear for The New York Times.

The Medicaid expansion is central to the health care law, since about 17 million of the 30 million Americans who will newly qualify for health insurance will do so under Medicaid. In Kentucky, that translates to 280,000 more people enrolling in the program.

Senior administration officials said they feel sure states will choose to expand Medicaid, but Republican governors like Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Bob McDonnell in Virginia would not commit either way. Daniels said the expansion would cost Indiana $2 billion in the next 10 years.

And though U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is one of the authors of the new law, he was not sure his own state would opt to expand. He did call the offer of federal assistance "a big juicy carrot." (Read more)

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Useful list helps explain health care law and Supreme Court ruling

To learn more about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal health-care reform law, as well as the Affordable Care Act itself, the Detroit Free Press has put together a list of helpful websites that elucidate the issues.

The list would be helpful to reporters interested in localizing the impact of the law.

Click here for the list, compiled by reporter Pat Anstett.

To learn more about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal health-care reform law, as well as the Affordable Care Act itself, the Detroit Free Press has put together a list of helpful websites that elucidate the issues.

The list would be helpful to reporters interested in localizing the impact of the law.

Click here for the list, compiled by reporter Pat Anstett.

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