A taskforce of Kentucky legislators recently met with the goal of reviewing the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, Commission Report. They said they aim to use the findings in the report to improve the health of all Kentuckians when they are next in session.
Representative Kimberly Moser is the chair of the House Standing Committee on Health Services. She said one area of concern is the growing shortage of healthcare workers in the state. Moser added part of the problem may be found in the state’s schools.
“The science proficiency rate is in the single digits. I want to know why that is, and I think that as we continue to work on our healthcare workforce, for example, we need to pay attention to this low number,” said Moser. “I don’t think that it’s necessarily a surprise that we have a shortage of healthcare workers if we’re not exposing our kids to science.”
Representative Matt Lockett said the health of Kentuckians affects every aspect of their lives. He added the committee should work to solve the root causes of these health issues and further work to prevent them.
“We know that a lot of the things that we deal with in the Commonwealth has to do with health. Whether it’s mental health, whether it’s physical health. A lot of issues that we deal with in our schools have to do with mental health with our younger population. This deals with all of that and how all of that flows together,” said Lockett
The report also found that childhood obesity has increased 270% since the 1970’s. Additionally, they found that 40% of children in the U-S suffer from chronic disorders such as obesity, asthma, ADHD, and diabetes.
Lawmakers discussed several different sectors that have an impact on health in Kentucky, including farming and food choices, transportation and other access barriers, and insurance coverage.