The painful legacy of ‘law and order’ treatment of addiction in jail
by Renuka Rayasam KFF Health News JASPER — Megan Dunn, who has struggled with addiction since her teens, points to the moment her life went “deeply downhill.” After dropping out…
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How a combination of COVID lawsuits and media coverage keeps misinformation churning
by Darius Tahir, KFF Health News Public health has had its day in court lately. And another day. And another day. Over the course of the pandemic, lawsuits came from…
CDC to reduce funding for states’ child vaccination programs
by Andy Miller KFF Health News The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing funding to states for child vaccination programs, according to an agency email obtained by KFF…
How health care may be affected by the high court’s affirmative action ruling
Doctors are concerned that a Supreme Court ruling issued June 29 will have far-reaching effects not only on the diversity of doctors and other care providers in training but ultimately…
As low-nicotine cigarettes hit the market, anti-smoking groups press for wider standard
by Don Thompson KFF Health News The idea seems simple enough. Preserve all the rituals of smoking: Light up a cigarette, inhale the smoke, including the nasty stuff that can…
A new law is supposed to protect pregnant workers — but what if we don’t know how?
by Gina Jiménez California Healthline Vanessa Langness had always been a bit worried about the chemicals she worked with as a biomedical researcher, but when she got pregnant in October,…
California’s homelessness crisis is homegrown, study finds
by Angela Hart KFF Health News SACRAMENTO — California’s homelessness crisis is a homegrown problem that is deepening amid a shortage of affordable housing and emergency shelter, and it’s often…
Dementia can take a toll on financial health, as some families learn the hard way
by Sarah Boden KFF Health News Angela Reynolds knew her mother’s memory was slipping, but she didn’t realize how bad things had gotten until she started to untangle her mom’s…
International rights group calls out US for allowing hospitals to push millions into debt
by Noam N. Levey KFF Health News HUMAN Rights Watch, the nonprofit that for decades has called attention to the victims of war, famine, and political repression around the world,…
How the mixed messaging of vaccine skeptics sows seeds of doubt
It was a late-spring House of Representatives hearing, where members of Congress and attendees hoped to learn lessons from the pandemic. Witness Marty Makary made a plea. “I want to…
California schools start hatching heat plans as the planet warms
by Calli McMurray KFF Health News As hot days become more extreme and common, California education researchers are urging that school districts be required to develop heat plans to keep…
Personal medical debt in Los Angeles County tops $2.6 billion, report finds
About 810,000, or 1 in 10, Los Angeles County adults together owe more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021, a new analysis has found — a staggering…
As Medicaid purge begins, ‘staggering numbers’ of Americans lose coverage
More than 600,000 Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended on April 1. And a KFF Health News analysis of state data shows the vast majority were removed…
California governor and Democratic lawmakers at odds over billions in health care funds
SACRAMENTO — When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office four years ago, the Democrat went after Republicans on the national stage as they sought to gut the Affordable Care Act. Key…
California hospitals seek a broad bailout, but they don’t all need it
by Samantha Young and Angela Hart KFF Health News SACRAMENTO — One of the country’s richest hospitals, which caters to Hollywood elites, accepted nearly $28 million last year from an…
A Covid test Medicare scam may be a trial run for further fraud
by Susan Jaffe California Healthline Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests ended last week, but the scams spawned by the temporary pandemic benefit could have lingering consequences for seniors. Medicare…
When older parents resist help or advice, use these tips to cope
It was a regrettable mistake. But Kim Sylvester thought she was doing the right thing at the time. Her 80-year-old mother, Harriet Burkel, had fallen at her home in Raleigh,…
State lawmakers eye forced treatment to address overlap in homelessness and mental illness
by April Dembosky, KQED and Amelia Templeton, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Carrie Feibel, KFF Health News Many of the unhoused people in Portland, Oregon, live in tents pitched on sidewalks…
AI may be on its way to your doctor’s office, but it’s not ready to see patients
What use could health care have for someone who makes things up, can’t keep a secret, doesn’t really know anything, and, when speaking, simply fills in the next word based…
Medi-Cal Enrollees: Here’s How to Verify Your Eligibility
If you are enrolled in Medi-Cal, as more than one-third of Californians are, make sure your county knows how to reach you, or you could lose your health coverage unnecessarily….
California says new cigarettes appear to violate state’s flavored tobacco ban
by Don Thompson, KFF Health News California’s attorney general is warning two tobacco companies that their new cigarettes appear to violate a state ban on most flavored tobacco products that…
Biden administration warns consumers to avoid medical credit cards
The Biden administration on Thursday cautioned Americans about the growing risks of medical credit cards and other loans for medical bills, warning in a new report that high interest rates…
As pandemic emergencies end, people battling long COVID feel ‘swept under the rug’
Lost careers. Broken marriages. Dismissed and disbelieved by family and friends. These are some of the emotional and financial struggles long covid patients face years after their infection. Physically, they…
For uninsured people with cancer, securing care can be like spinning a roulette wheel
by Charlotte Huff, Kaiser Health News Eighteen months after April Adcox learned she had skin cancer, she finally returned to Charleston’s Medical University of South Carolina last May to seek…
Most Americans say they or a family member has experienced gun violence
A majority of Americans say they or a family member has experienced gun violence, such as witnessing a shooting, being threatened by a person with a gun, or being shot,…
High inflation and housing costs force many Americans to delay needed care
At a health-screening event in Sarasota, Florida, people gathered in a parking lot and waited their turn for blood pressure or diabetes checks. The event was held in Sarasota’s Newtown…
No-cost preventive services are now in jeopardy
When a federal judge in Texas declared unconstitutional a popular part of the Affordable Care Act that ensures no-cost preventive care for certain services, such as screening exams for conditions…
Gov. Newsom wanted California to cut ties with Walgreens. Then federal law got in the way.
by Samantha Young Kaiser Health News SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared last month that California was “done” doing business with Walgreens after the pharmacy chain said it would not…
Banning noncompete contracts for medical staff riles hospitals
by Harris Meyer, Kaiser Health News Dr. Jacqui O’Kane took a job with a hospital in southern Georgia in 2020, as the lone doctor in a primary care clinic in…
Judge’s decision would make some no-cost cancer screenings a thing of the past
by Julie Appleby and Michelle Andrews Kaiser Health News A federal judge on Thursday, March 30 overturned a portion of the Affordable Care Act that makes preventive services, such as…