A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

KHIP: Kentucky adults support schools as more active resource for helping families get health care


Kentucky adults continue to support schools as a resource for helping families get health care services for their children, according to the Kentucky Health Issues Poll. Eight in 10 said schools should play a more active role in this effort, an opinion that has held steady over the last decade.

KHIP, an annual telephone poll of Kentucky adults about health and health policy issues, is sponsored jointly by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health. This KHIP report showed that support for schools taking a more active role in children’s health is strong regardless of the respondents’ income level.

“As a health policy advocacy organization, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky recognizes that schools offer a setting to address both health and education inequities among our children,” said Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation. In September 2019, the Foundation launched a statewide coalition that will work collectively to improve children’s health in the school setting. 

“A variety of Kentucky organizations are coming together to identify common policy goals that will improve health outcomes for children and youth in our schools,” Chandler said. 

The Coalition, still in its early development stages, has not yet announced specific school-based policy strategies it will endorse.

Meanwhile, as of November 2019, school districts in Kentucky are allowed to provide Medicaid-covered physical and behavioral health services for students enrolled in the program, free of charge to their families. This change in Kentucky’s Medicaid plan enables schools to expand health services for students.

A copy of the KHIP report, Support Remains Strong for Schools Taking a More Active Role in Children’s Health, is available here.

Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky


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