Pandemic stress, gangs, and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings
by Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when…
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Biden administration urged to take more aggressive steps to relieve medical debt
by Noam N. Levey Kaiser Health News Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive…
California’s massive Medicaid program works for some, but fails many others
by Angela Hart and Bernard J. Wolfson, Kaiser Health News Newborns. Former inmates. College students. Expectant moms. People with disabilities. Foster kids. Homeless people. Single dads. Your neighbor. Your co-worker….
Dementia care programs help, if caregivers can find them
by Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News There’s no cure, yet, for Alzheimer’s disease. But dozens of programs developed in the past 20 years can improve the lives of both people…
California explores private insurance for immigrants lacking legal status. But is it affordable?
A doctor found cysts in Lilia Becerril’s right breast five years ago, but the 51-year-old lacks health insurance. She said she can’t afford the imaging to find out if they’re…
California dangles bonuses for nursing homes that add staff
SACRAMENTO — California is revamping how it rewards nursing homes to get them to improve patient care. Rather than limit bonuses to top-performing facilities, the state will hand out additional…
California says it can no longer afford aid for COVID testing, vaccinations for migrants
by Don Thompson, Kaiser Health News ALL day and sometimes into the night, buses and vans pull up to three state-funded medical screening centers near California’s southern border with Mexico….
California requires hospitals to turn to a patient’s next of kin, closing a longtime loophole
by Mark Kreidler, Kaiser Health News About four years ago, Dr. Gene Dorio sat on the ethics committee of a Southern California hospital whose administrators insisted they could decide whether…
US senators say health worker shortages ripe for bipartisan compromise
Senators are eying the growing shortage of health care workers in the United States as one of the few problems where there is room for bipartisan solutions, even in a…
In California, Democrats propose $25 minimum wage for health workers
SACRAMENTO — Union-aligned Democrats were set to introduce legislation on Wednesday, February 15 mandating a statewide $25 minimum wage for health workers and support staffers, likely setting up a pitched…
‘The country is watching’: California homeless crisis looms as Governor Newsom eyes political future
SACRAMENTO — Driving through the industrial outskirts of Sacramento, a stretch of warehouses, wholesale suppliers, truck centers, and auto repair shops northeast of downtown, it’s hard to square California’s $18…
Era of ‘free’ COVID vaccines, test kits, and treatments is ending. Who will pay the tab now?
Time is running out for free-to-consumer COVID vaccines, at-home test kits, and even some treatments. The White House announced this month that the national public health emergency, first declared in early…
California homeless crisis looms as Governor Newsom eyes political future
SACRAMENTO — Driving through the industrial outskirts of Sacramento, a stretch of warehouses, wholesale suppliers, truck centers, and auto repair shops northeast of downtown, it’s hard to square California’s $18…
A secret weapon in preventing the next pandemic: fruit bats
by Jim Robbins California Healthline More than four dozen Jamaican fruit bats destined for a lab in Bozeman, Montana, are set to become part of an experiment with an ambitious…
As long-term care staffing crisis worsens, immigrants can bridge the gaps, experts say
WHEN Margarette Nerette arrived in the United States from Haiti, she sought safety and a new start. The former human rights activist feared for her life in the political turmoil…
FDA experts are still puzzled over who should get which COVID shots and when
By Arthur Allen/Kaiser Health News At a meeting to simplify the nation’s covid vaccination policy, the FDA’s panel of experts could agree on only one thing: Information is woefully lacking…
California’s resolve questioned after it grants Medi-Cal contract concessions
by Bernard J. Wolfson and Samantha Young, Kaiser Health News California’s decision last month to cancel the results of a long-planned bidding competition among commercial health plans in its Medicaid…
Despite doctors’ concerns, University of California renews ties with religious affiliates
by Annie Sciacca, Kaiser Health News As the University of California’s health system renews contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics — many with religious affiliations — some of…
California Attorney General sues drugmakers over inflated insulin prices
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday, January 12 sued the six major companies that dominate the U.S. insulin market, ratcheting up the state’s assault on a profitable industry for…
Many families with unaffordable employer coverage now eligible for Covered California subsidies
If having the family on your employer-sponsored health plan has been a financial hardship, or outright impossible to afford, help may be on the way. The federal government recently fixed…
Public health agencies try to restore trust as they fight misinformation
By Lauren Sausser, Kaiser Health News OKLAHOMA CITY — By the summer of 2021, Phil Maytubby, deputy CEO of the health department here, was concerned to see the numbers of…
Want a clue on health care costs in advance? New tools take a crack at it
By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Need medical treatment this year and want to nail down your out-of-pocket costs before you walk into the doctor’s office? There’s a new tool…
Many families with unaffordable employer coverage now eligible for Covered California subsidies
If having the family on your employer-sponsored health plan has been a financial hardship, or outright impossible to afford, help may be on the way. The federal government recently fixed…
Medicare pay cuts will hurt seniors’ care, doctors argue
Doctors are urging Congress to call off cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 in the reimbursements they receive from Medicare. In what has become an almost yearly ritual,…
To attract in-home caregivers, California offers paid training — and self-care
One November afternoon, Chris Espedal asked a group of caregivers — all of whom work with people who have cognitive impairments, behavioral health issues, or complex physical needs — to…
Assisted living facilities pressed to address growing needs of older, sicker residents
by Judith Graham Assisted living communities too often fail to meet the needs of older adults and should focus more on residents’ medical and mental health concerns, according to a…
A work-from-home culture takes root in California
By Phillip Reese, Kaiser Health News Even as pandemic lockdowns fade into memory, covid-19 has transformed California’s workplace culture in ways researchers say will reverberate well beyond 2022. According to…
Treating long covid is rife with guesswork
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio, Kaiser Health News Medical equipment is still strewn around the house of Rick Lucas, 62, nearly two years after he came home from the…
CA aims to maximize health insurance subsidies for workers during labor disputes
This spring, Chevron workers testified that the company revoked health coverage for hundreds of members of the United Steelworkers Local 5 at the Richmond, California, refinery during a strike that…
Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta investigates hospital algorithms for racial bias
By Mark Kreidler/Kaiser Health News SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta sailed to victory in the Nov. 8 election, riding his progressive record on reproductive rights, gun control, and social…