Study faults limits on subsidized child care in Ky.

According to a study by the National Women's Law Center, parents in Kentucky who get child-care subsidies pay disproportionately higher co-pays than those in other states. That makes it harder for them to get quality health care and harder for health-care providers to remain viable. "Low-income parents in Kentucky who receive child care subsidies are still paying very high co-payment rates, and the state's eligibility level is among the country's lowest," writes Valarie Honeycutt Spears of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"The federal government recommends that states set their child-care provider reimbursement rates at the 75th percentile of current market rates, which allows families to access three-quarters of the child-care providers in their communities," Spears explains. Kentucky's reimbursement rate is around the 68th percentile, meanign just over two-thirds of the providers are available. (Read more)