Kentucky News Now – December 31st, 2013

HEALTH OVERHAUL-KENTUCKY

Health coverage enrollment passes 116,000 in Ky.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — More than 116,000 Kentuckians have enrolled for medical coverage through the state-operated insurance marketplace.

Gov. Steve Beshear's office said Monday that since Thanksgiving week, enrollments through Kentucky's health insurance website are up nearly 93 percent. Thousands of Kentuckians made final decisions about their health care plans by Dec. 23, the deadline to ensure coverage starting New Year's Day.

People who enrolled in private insurance plans are being urged to pay their first premiums by their insurer's deadline to ensure coverage begins promptly. Payments must be received by Jan. 10.

As of late Monday morning, the state says 84,480 people had enrolled in Medicaid and 31,672 in private health insurance plans.

Enrollment continues through March 31. Those applying over the next couple of weeks can have coverage starting as soon as Feb. 1.

EDUCATION COMMISSIONER

Holliday takes over as president of national group

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday has taken over as president of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The national group, composed of state education chiefs from across the country, gets involved in major educational issues.

Holliday said one of the areas he will focus on as president is career readiness. He wants to press public schools to better prepare students to be ready to move into the workforce or into higher education.

That happens to be an initiative Holliday has pressed in Kentucky as well.

Holliday has served as Kentucky's education commissioner since 2009.

KENTUCKY REPUBLICANS

Perry to headline Kentucky GOP event

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Western Kentucky Republicans have landed Texas Gov. Rick Perry to headline a fundraiser focusing on efforts to flip control of the Kentucky House.

Calloway County GOP Chairman Greg DeLancey said Monday that Perry will speak at the March 15 event at Murray State University.

Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas history and is seen as a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016.

DeLancey says organizers are leaning toward charging $51 per person for the event, which carries plenty of symbolism. Republicans now hold 46 state House seats and need to reach 51 to wrest control from Democrats.

Republicans have made gains in western Kentucky, once a Democratic stronghold. The GOP picked up a western Kentucky House seat in a special election this month and won a handful of seats in the region in 2012.

DEADLY WRECK

2 NC children dead in southwest Alabama crash

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Two children from North Carolina died in a five-vehicle crash in southwest Alabama.

State troopers said 7-year-old Naziya Gillis and 9-year-old Nadir Gillis of Camp Lejeune, N.C., were killed when the Dodge Challenger in which they were riding was struck by a tractor-trailer truck.

The driver of the Dodge, 28-year-old Isom Hodges, and a passenger, 30-year-old Labricia Hodges, both of Camp Lejeune, were injured. The driver of another car, 42-year-old William Rousey of Lexington, Ky., was also injured. No other drivers, including the truck driver, were injured.

State troopers said they are investigating what caused the collision at 10:50 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 65 about three miles south of Atmore. The wreck tied up traffic for several hours.

MINING OVERSIGHT

Feds to probe 5 aspects of W.Va. mining oversight

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The federal government says it will examine five aspects of West Virginia's regulation of surface coal mining in response to a petition by 18 environmental, civic and religious groups.

The organizations claimed in a petition last summer that the state Department of Environmental Protection has shown "callous disregard" for both the environment and federal law. They lodged 19 specific allegations and asked the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to investigate and temporarily take over the state program.

The federal office said Monday that it has dismissed 14 of the allegations but will investigate the other five. The office said in a news release that federal regulations prohibit an immediate takeover of the program without further evaluation of the complaints.