What the 2020s have in store for aging boomers
WITHIN 10 years, all of the nation’s 74 million baby boomers will be 65 or older. The most senior among them will be on the cusp of 85. Even sooner,…
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Fecal bacteria in California’s waterways increases with homeless crisis
By Anna Almendrala President Donald Trump, a self-described germophobe, has made no secret of his disgust with California’s growing homeless problem, which he has called a “disgrace” and “inappropriate” and…
Reports of patients’ deaths linked to heart devices lurk below radar
by Christina Jewett The Food and Drug Administration continues to file thousands of reports of patients’ deaths related to medical devices through a reporting system that keeps the safety data…
Federal appeals court strikes down portion of Obamacare
by Julie Rovner A FEDERAL appeals court panel in New Orleans dealt another blow to the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, December 18, agreeing with a lower-court judge that the…
Obamacare back at the high court — with billions for insurers on the line
by Phil Galewitz More than $12 billion is at stake for the nation’s health insurers Tuesday, December 10, when the Supreme Court hears another Affordable Care Act case. For the…
California Surprise-Billing Law protects patients but aggravates many doctors
MORE than two years after California’s surprise-billing law took effect, there’s one thing on which consumer advocates, doctors and insurers all agree: The law has been effective at protecting many…
Coping with (power) loss: California’s hospitals, clinics, patients face new reality
by Mark Kreidler WE all know that when the power goes out, refrigerators, heaters and air conditioners stop running. Homes go dark, and desktop computers shut down. But those are…
Medi-Cal to expand eligibility to young undocumented adults. But will they enroll?
by Ana B. Ibarra Starting in January, young adults can sign up for California’s Medicaid program regardless of immigration status. But a fundamental question looms: Will they? Some young people…
The startlingly high cost of the ‘free’ flu shot
by Phil Galewitz IN the Byzantine world of health care pricing, most people wouldn’t expect that the ubiquitous flu shot could be a prime example of how the system’s lack…
Nursing home safety violations put residents at risk, report finds
by Barbara Feder Ostrov AS huge swaths of California burned last fall, federal health officials descended on 20 California nursing homes to determine whether they were prepared to protect their…
Flavor bans multiply, but menthol continues to divide
by Ana B. Ibarra AS states and communities rush to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products linked to vaping, Carol McGruder races from town to town, urging officials to…
California fires illuminate trauma and resilience
by Anna Maria Barry-Jester SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Dorothy Hammack had planned to wash her thick, dark hair in the kitchen sink Friday morning. She couldn’t yet shower, due to…
California nursing home residents told to find new homes
by Jocelyn Wiener SOME of California’s most vulnerable nursing home residents, many of whom have nowhere else to go, are receiving letters from their health care plans saying they are…
California to provide financial boost to help buy health coverage
by Bernard Wolfson IF you are among the Californians who buy your own health insurance, a surprise may await you as the enrollment period for 2020 coverage opens this week….
As vaping illnesses rise, so do pleas to quit-smoking help lines
by Anna Almendrala “I stopped for a few days and then I ended up buying new pods. The withdrawals got to me.” “My friends are the ones who got me…
Trump’s new order for Medicare packs potential rise in patients’ costs
by Julie Appleby Vowing to protect Medicare with “every ounce of strength,” President Donald Trump last week spoke to a cheering crowd in Florida. But his executive order released shortly…
Dangers of skin-lightening cream highlighted after woman falls into coma
by Anna Almendrala SHE had been buying face cream through a friend of a friend for 12 years. This time, it was Pond’s “Rejuveness,” a version of the company’s anti-wrinkle…
As health care costs rise, workers at low-wage firms may pay a larger share
by Michelle Andrews HEALTH insurance premiums and deductibles for job-based coverage edged upward in 2019, surpassing increases in both wages and inflation, according to an annual employer survey of more…
States target vaping with bans
by Ana B. Ibarra In California, the action is local STATES are piling on. Michigan took the first statewide shot at vaping early this month when it announced a ban…
Number of Americans without insurance rises in 2018
by Phil Galewitz FOR the first time in a decade, the number of Americans without health insurance has risen — by about 2 million people in 2018 — according to…
Lawmakers send contested vaccine bill to CA governor
by Ana B. Ibarra CALIFORNIA lawmakers dropped this year’s most controversial public health bill into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lap on Wednesday, but it’s not clear whether he will sign the…
Starving seniors: How California’s aging are falling through the cracks
by Laura Ungar and Trudy Lieberman SAN JOSE, Calif. — In the neighborhoods around San Jose, more than 1 in 9 seniors struggle to get enough to eat. They are…
California requires suicide prevention phone number on student IDs
by Mark Kreidler Denise Herrmann was only a few months into her new job as principal of a Palo Alto, Calif., high school in fall 2014 when a student took…
Trump administration hits brakes on law to curb unneeded Medicare CT scans, MRIs
by Phil Galewitz Five years after Congress passed a law to reduce unnecessary MRIs, CT scans and other expensive diagnostic imaging tests that could harm patients and waste money, federal…
Dealing with the lingering effects of a mass shooting
by: Anna Almendrala Veronica Kelley was working at an office building across the street from the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., in December 2015 when a county employee…
Surprise medical bill legislation takes a step forward, but will it lead to a step back?
by Rachel Bluth THE House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesda, July 17, approved its version of legislation to curb surprise medical bills. Though this step was an important advance,…
California broadens investigation of doctors for issuing questionable vaccination exemptions
by Barbara Feder Ostrov THE California agency that regulates doctors is investigating at least four physicians for issuing questionable medical exemptions to children whose parents did not want them immunized….
‘Medicare for All’ emerges as early divide in first Democratic debate
DURING Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate — the first in a two-night event viewed as the de facto launch of the primary season — health policies, ranging from “Medicare…
Democratic voters want to hear candidates’ views on health, but priorities vary
With the first Democratic debates a week away, health care is the top issue the party’s voters say they want candidates to address, according to a poll released on Tuesday,…
A proposal to make it harder for kids to skip vaccines gives powerful voices pause
by Anna Maria Barry-Jester AS California lawmakers attempt to tighten the rules on childhood vaccinations, they’re getting pushback from unexpected quarters: high-profile officials who support vaccines. In the past few…