Latest news with #MakeAmericaHealthyAgainKentuckyTaskForce
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky Make America Healthy Again task force meets for first time
Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, discusses her resolution to establish a Make America Healthy Again Kentucky Task Force to implement the Trump administration's health policies. Feb. 27, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) During the first meeting of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Kentucky Task Force, lawmakers said they want to address food deserts and food quality, childhood obesity, mental health and health care costs, among other things. Members and non members had a slew of ideas for what the task force should focus on — including education, diabetes, personal responsibility around health, the importance of physical fitness, agricultural partnerships, chronic illnesses, dental care, cancer and other topics. Co-chair Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, said the task force could 'chase a lot of rabbits' but should stay focused. She and co-chair Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, want to place emphasis on food quality and availability. In 2023, 753,410 Kentuckians were food insecure, meaning they don't have enough to eat and may not know where their next meal will come from. Meanwhile, the 'big beautiful bill' Republicans in the U.S. House passed in May shifts to state governments some of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food to low-income Americans. The Kentucky General Assembly created the MAHA Kentucky Task Force this year as a way to implement the Trump administration's principles in the commonwealth. Hot button topics like fluoridated water will come up during the interim, Funke Frommeyer said, but 'I don't think you'll hear that in our committee.' In the 2025 session, a bill to make fluoride in water optional in Kentucky passed the House but not the Senate. Task force members, in addition to Funke Frommeyer and Lockett, are Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville; Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville; Sen. Craig Richardson, R-Hopkinsville; Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville; Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville; Rep. Robert Duvall, R-Bowling Green; Rep. Adam Moore, D-Lexington; and Rep. Marianne Proctor, R-Union. Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, who is not a task force member but shared his thoughts during the Wednesday meeting, said 'the work that will be done here will touch every committee that we have in the legislature.' 'We forget that we don't live and work in a vacuum, and everybody's going to be impacted by this, said Meredith, a retired hospital executive. 'I've been preaching for the last year about the unsustainable growth in health care costs, particularly in the United States. If we don't get control of this, I truly believe it's going to cause our economy to collapse.' The next task force meeting is July 10 at 3 p.m. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
KY version of Trump's health commission gets Senate OK as Democrat denounces ‘abject misinformation'
Sen. Steve Rawlings, R-Burlington, takes a photo of Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, after the Senate approved her resolution to establish a Make America Healthy Again Kentucky Task Force, Feb. 27, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) FRANKFORT — A Democratic physician pointed to a Kentucky measles case and condemned 'abject misinformation' as the Republican-controlled state Senate unanimously voted Thursday to adopt Trump administration health goals and launch a Make America Healthy Again Kentucky Task Force. Sen. Karen Berg, a physician in Louisville, voted for the resolution but said, 'We are going backwards.' Kentucky officials announced a case of measles Wednesday night. Measles is a highly contagious virus that is preventable by vaccine, according to Johns Hopkins. Berg pointed to the rate of measles vaccination in Kentucky, which the Department of Health says is about 90% and slightly lower than the national percentage, which she blamed on misinformation about the safety and benefits of vaccines. The Kentucky Senate last year approved a bill that would have prohibited schools and employers from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine. The bill died in the House. President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has gained wide recognition for spreading inaccurate information and skepticism about vaccines. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a polio survivor, was the only Republican in the U.S. Senate who voted against Kennedy's confirmation. Trump has started a Make America Healthy Again Commission that Kennedy will chair. Berg said, 'I understand wholeheartedly the concepts of health and wellbeing and being responsible for what you put in your body and how you treat your body. But I also cannot — and under any circumstances — minimize what medicine has done to impact the survival of children in this country.' While introducing her resolution, primary sponsor Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, emphasized the hope for Kentucky to move toward a more 'holistic' view of health. 'We want to pursue evidence-based approaches,' Funke Frommeyer said. 'We'd like to encourage partnerships with research institutions to gather data on the long term benefits of holistic health practices, providing a robust basis for policy decisions.' The task force would be composed of eight legislative members — four from the Senate and four from the House — including two Democrats and six Republicans, appointed by each chamber's leadership, who would meet at least once a month during the interim before the next legislative session. The task force would also include the Cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary, Kentucky Department for Public Health commissioner, Department for Community Based Services commissioner, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education and the chair of the Kentucky Board of Licensure and Certification for Dietitians and Nutritionists, or their designees. By Dec. 1, the task force would submit a report with recommendations to the governor and the Legislative Research Commission outlining ways to improve the health of Kentuckians. Funke Frommeyer said the task force's goals will include scrutinizing weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, promoting 'preventative and alternative therapies,' reevaluating Medicaid drug approvals and more.
