Kenny Colston

State officials have not yet given private Medicaid operators permission to do business in the Louisville area, but that hasn't stopped one company from trying to make inroads.

A national group that hopes to give voters more choices in this year's presidential election is bringing its campaign to Kentucky. Americans Elect wants to field a presidential ticket in all 50 states. The group will nominate a candidate through a primary online at AmericansElect.org, and will then petition to get a candidate on the ballot in Kentucky.

Kentucky Senator Julie Denton says the state's largest private Medicaid company is underpaying and threatening health care providers, and she says lawmakers may kick the company out of the state Medicaid system if the behavior persists.

A new poll by a nonpartisan health organization suggests a majority of Kentuckians would support a statewide smoking ban. The Kentucky Health Issues Poll is conducted by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. And its 2011 poll, taken last fall and released this week, shows that 54 percent of Kentuckians would approve an indoor statewide smoking ban.

A group of three economists hopes to provide key input to Kentucky's tax commission this summer. The Blue Ribbon Tax Commission picked three professors to act as consultants as the group considers changes to the state's tax code. Two are from the University of Kentucky and one is from the University of Tennessee.