Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
The Kentucky legislature is moving to incorporate the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” principles in the commonwealth.
On Tuesday, members of the Senate Families and Children Committee unanimously—and with bipartisan support—passed a resolution to establish the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Kentucky Task Force.
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.
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.
Primary sponsor Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, acknowledged the federal plan isn’t finalized yet but said “this is our starting point” to start addressing Kentucky’s dismal health statistics. Kentucky is one of the least healthy states in the nation, with high rates of diabetes and cancer deaths, maternal mortality and more.
President Donald Trump’s Feb. 13 executive order gave the federal MAHA commission 100 days to submit a report on their findings into a slew of health issues, including antidepressant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), weight-loss drugs and more.
While waiting on more federal direction, Funke Frommeyer said, her MAHA Kentucky goals include:
- Reevaluate Medicaid drug approvals.
- Scrutinize drugs like ozempic and propose a thorough review of the Medicaid approval process “to ensure that the high cost for forever medications like ozempic are only used when truly necessary.”
- Promote preventative and alternative therapies.
- Encourage the adoption of less invasive, more holistic treatments “consistent with … restoring American health over corporate profit.”
- Revamp medical and dental curricula to “(ensure) future providers are educated on addressing the root causes of chronic illness, rather than solely relying on pharmaceuticals.”
Sen. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville, praised the parts of the resolution that encourages reduction of environmental pollutants and increased access to nutritious food.
“I know that in my district, and in Louisville, that there is a lack of access to fresh food, grocery stores and then there’s a lot of environmental issues,” said Herron, who voted in favor of the resolution. “I look forward to learning more about this and working with you all to really get down to those root causes, to make sure that all Kentuckians have access to be healthy.”
The federal commission’s report should come out in late May.
“We want to communicate the vision, clearly articulate that the goal is to enhance public health and prevent over medication,” Funke Frommeyer said, “not to attack agriculture, not to attack pharmaceutical companies, not to attack processed food industries.”
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.