‘I feel dismissed’: People experiencing colorism say health system fails them
by Chaseedaw Giles LOS ANGELES — Jonnae Thompson has felt for a long time that her dark brown skin and natural hair have made finding work in Hollywood especially hard….
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Harris’ California health care battles signal fights ahead for hospitals if she wins
When Kamala Harris was California’s top prosecutor, she was concerned that mergers among hospitals, physician groups, and health insurers could thwart competition and lead to higher prices for patients. If…
California lawmakers debate sending local health inspectors into immigration facilities
by Vanessa G. Sánchez KFF Health News COVID-19, mumps, and chickenpox outbreaks. Contaminated water, moldy food, and air ducts spewing black dust. These health threats have been documented inside privately…
California speeds up indoor heat protections amid sweltering summer weather
by Samantha Young SACRAMENTO — Californians working indoors are getting immediate protections from extreme heat as much of the state bakes in triple-digit temperatures this week. California has had heat…
Why millions are trying fda-authorized alternatives to big pharma’s weight loss drugs
by Arthur Allen KFF Health News Pharmacist Mark Mikhael has lost 50 pounds over the past 12 months. He no longer has diabetes and finds himself “at my ideal body…
California forges ahead with social media rules despite legal barriers
California lawmakers are pursuing legislation aimed at protecting children from the dangers of social media, one of many efforts around the country to confront what U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy…
A California medical group treats only homeless patients — and makes money doing it
by Angela Hart KFF Health News LOS ANGELES — They distribute GPS devices so they can track their homeless patients. They stock their street kits with glass pipes used to…
States set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes. Residents suffer when rules are ignored or waived
by Jordan Rau KFF Health News For hours, John Pernorio repeatedly mashed the call button at his bedside in the Heritage Hills nursing home in Rhode Island. A retired truck…
States set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes. Residents suffer when rules are ignored or waived.
by Jordan Rau KFF Health News For hours, John Pernorio repeatedly mashed the call button at his bedside in the Heritage Hills nursing home in Rhode Island. A retired truck…
Lack of affordability tops older Americans’ list of health care worries
by Judith Graham KFF Health News What weighs most heavily on older adults’ minds when it comes to health care? The cost of services and therapies, and their ability to…
Lack of affordability tops older Americans’ list of health care worries
by Judith Graham KFF Health News What weighs most heavily on older adults’ minds when it comes to health care? The cost of services and therapies, and their ability to…
The Supreme Court just limited federal power. Health care is feeling the shockwaves.
by Stephanie Armour KFF Health News A landmark Supreme Court decision that reins in federal agencies’ authority is expected to hold dramatic consequences for the nation’s health care system, calling…
Supreme Court OKs local crackdowns on homelessness, as advocates warn of chaos
The U.S. Supreme Court’s watershed decision on homelessness Friday will make it easier for elected officials and law enforcement authorities nationwide to fine and arrest people who live on streets…
Los Angeles County approves medical debt relief for residents
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan to tackle a…
California’s $25 health care hourly wage relies on federal boost, state worker exemption
SACRAMENTO — California’s nation-leading $25 minimum wage for health workers will rely on a significant boost in federal funding and exempt thousands of state employees under an agreement that is…
It’s called an urgent care emergency center — but which is it?
by Renuka Rayasam KFF Health News One evening last December, Tieqiao Zhang felt severe stomach pain. After it subsided later that night, he thought it might be food poisoning. When…
Medicaid for millions in America hinges on Deloitte-run systems plagued by errors
by Rachana Pradhan and Samantha Liss KFF Health News Deloitte, a global consultancy that reported revenue last year of $65 billion, pulls in billions of dollars from states and the…
‘We’re flying blind’: CDC has 1M bird flu tests ready, but experts see repeat of COVID missteps
by Amy Maxmen KFF Health News It’s been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization…
California leaders tussle with health industry over billions of new dollars for Medi-Cal
by Bernard J. Wolfson KFF Health News Gov. Gavin Newsom, state lawmakers, and health industry leaders have a small window to reach an agreement on billions of new dollars for…
Older women are different than older men. Their health Is woefully understudied
by Judith Graham California Healthline Medical research has shortchanged women for decades. This is particularly true of older women, leaving physicians without critically important information about how to best manage…
California loops in AI to translate health care information
Tener gripe, tener gripa, engriparse, agriparse, estar agripado, estar griposo, agarrar la gripe, coger la influenza. In Spanish, there are at least a dozen ways to say someone has the…
California lawmakers preserve aid to older, disabled immigrants
California lawmakers on Thursday, June 14 passed a 2024-25 budget that rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to cut in-home supportive services for low-income older, blind, and disabled immigrants lacking legal…
White House enlists doctors and hospitals to combat gun violence
by Samantha Young KFF Health News The White House is calling on hospital executives, doctors, and other health care leaders to take bolder steps to prevent gun violence by gathering…
Biden administration advances plan to remove medical debt from credit scores
Americans would no longer have to worry about medical debts dragging down their credit scores under federal regulations proposed on Tuesday, June 11 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If…
Presidential election could decide fate of extra Obamacare subsidies
by Andy Miller KFF Health News When Cassie Cox ended up in the emergency room in January, the Bainbridge, Georgia, resident was grateful for the Obamacare insurance policy she had…
New help for dealing with aggression in people with dementia
Caring for older adults with dementia is stressful, especially when they become physically or verbally aggressive, wander away from home, develop paranoia or hallucinations, engage in inappropriate or repetitive behaviors,…
4 ways vaccine skeptics mislead you on measles and more
by Amy Maxmen and Céline Gounder KFF Health News Measles is on the rise in the United States. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases was…
Los Angeles County launches ambitious plan to tackle medical debt
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has launched one of the most ambitious efforts in the nation to tackle medical debt, targeting hospitals for their role in feeding a $2.9…
High price of popular diabetes drugs deprives low-income people of effective treatment
For the past year and a half, Tandra Cooper Harris and her husband, Marcus, who both have diabetes, have struggled to fill their prescriptions for the medications they need to…
The lure of specialty medicine pulls nurse practitioners from primary care
by Michelle Andrews KFF Health News For many patients, seeing a nurse practitioner has become a routine part of primary care, in which these “NPs” often perform the same tasks…