Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/tag/health-care/)
A federal judge says there is evidence that a doctor, a nurse and the Montgomery County jailer all demonstrated “deliberate indifference” to the needs of an inmate who died in the jail. The inmate was featured in a KyCIR series last year on jail health care woes.
The Kentucky Senate passed a bill this week that would allow pharmacists to dispense cheaper versions of biologic drugs, even though no such alternatives are yet on the market.
Drug companies and drug industry groups, flush with money to spend on lobbyists, are flocking to Frankfort like never before.
Despite evidence, court settlements and sharp judicial opinions, Kentucky’s Department of Corrections rarely probes deeply when a jail inmate dies. The agency has not sanctioned a single jail in connection with the more than 140 inmate deaths in the past five-and-a-half years.
An examination of a health care system that runs counter to national standards, and often falls far short of meeting medical needs. While Kentucky counties look to cut costs, for-profit companies have stepped in. But inmates are suffering and state officials aren’t doing anything about it.