Health Care Crisis in the Bluegrass

In a multi-part series currently running in The Courier-Journal the critical state of health care in Kentucky is explored. Kentucky is poor and rural and that doesn’t lead to a healthy citizenry. Bad health habits, lack of health insurance, and a shortage of health care providers converge to help Kentucky to be one of the sickest states in the union.

Obviously Kentucky is not alone – many of her Southern neighbors keep her company on the bottom of the health care charts. And, unfortunately, things are only getting worse. The number of people with health insurance is decreasing, changes in law make it harder to file bankruptcy (medical costs are a leading reason for filing, see Krugman and Health Affairs), and the gap between the haves and have-nots is only growing wider.

Rural poverty and health care issues are often left out of the political debate, it's nice to see them being addressed.

Also, check out Nick Anderson's cartoon.