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,…
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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…
This open enrollment season, look out for health insurance that seems too good to be true
By Bram Sable-Smith It took nearly a year for Kelly Macauley to realize the health plan she bought while shopping for insurance coverage last October was not, in fact, insurance….
Shopping for ACA health insurance? Here’s what’s new this year
It’s fall again, meaning shorter days, cooler temperatures, and open enrollment for Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance — sign-ups begin this week for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2023. Even…
California patients fear fallout from third dialysis ballot measure
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Toni Sherwin is actually looking forward to the procedure that will relocate her dialysis port from her chest to her arm, which will be easier to…
Ambulance company to halt some rides in Southern California, citing low medicaid rates
For 23 years, the private ambulance industry in California had gone without an increase in the base rate the state pays it to transport Medicaid enrollees. At the start of…
An abortion rights question on the California ballot revives the debate over ‘viability’
by April Dembosky As California voters decide whether to amend their state constitution to explicitly protect abortion rights, lawmakers still do not agree on whether the amendment would enshrine those…
‘Separate and unequal’: Critics say Newsom’s pricey Medicaid reforms leave most patients behind
Los Angeles, CA — It wasn’t exactly an emergency, but Michael Reed, a security guard who lives in Watts, had back pain and ran out of his blood pressure medication….
Will COVID spike again this fall? 6 tips to help you stay safe
By Céline Gounder/Kaiser Health News Last year, the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus caught many people by surprise and led to a surge in…
Nursing home surprise: Advantage plans may shorten stays to less time than Medicare covers
After 11 days in a St. Paul, Minnesota, skilled nursing facility recuperating from a fall, Paula Christopherson, 97, was told by her insurer that she should return home. But instead…
Health plan shake-up could disrupt coverage for low-income Californians
Almost 2 million of California’s poorest and most medically fragile residents may have to switch health insurers as a result of a new strategy by the state to improve care…
Is COVID ‘under control’ in the US? Experts say yes
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact and Jeff Cercone, PolitiFact/Kaiser Health News President Joe Biden caused a stir in a “60 Minutes” interview on Sept. 18 when he declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. “We…
Health plan shake-up could disrupt coverage for low-income Californians
Almost 2 million of California’s poorest and most medically fragile residents may have to switch health insurers as a result of a new strategy by the state to improve care…
New abortion laws jeopardize cancer treatment for pregnant patients
As abortion bans go into effect across a contiguous swath of the South, cancer physicians are wrestling with how new state laws will influence their discussions with pregnant patients about…
A disability program promised to lift people from poverty, instead, it left many homeless
CHARLOTTE — After two months of sleeping in the Salvation Army Center of Hope homeless shelter, Margaret Davis has had no luck finding an apartment she can afford. The 55-year-old…
Did the US jump the gun with the new omicron-targeted vaccines?
by Céline Gounder and Elisabeth Rosenthal Last month, the FDA authorized omicron-specific vaccines, accompanied by breathless science-by-press release and a media blitz. Just days after the FDA’s move, the Centers…
‘He stood his ground’: California state senator will leave office as champion of tough vaccine laws
By Angela Hart/Kaiser Health News SACRAMENTO — A California lawmaker who rose to national prominence by muscling through some of the country’s strongest vaccination laws is leaving the state legislature…
Unraveling the interplay of omicron, reinfections and long COVID
The latest COVID-19 surge, caused by a shifting mix of quickly evolving omicron subvariants, appears to be waning, with cases and hospitalizations beginning to fall. Like past COVID waves, this…
More communities are giving flavored tobacco the boot. Will California follow?
By Zinnia Finn/Kaiser Health SAN JOSE — California’s third-largest city banished flavored tobacco products from store shelves this summer, joining scores of other cities and counties in the state in…
Timely mental health care is a key factor in strike by Kaiser Permanente workers
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Zinnia Finn [Editor’s note: KHN, which produces California Healthline, is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.] A California law that took effect in July requires health…
Public health agencies adapt covid lessons to curb overdoses, stds, and gun violence
by Katheryn Houghton LIVINGSTON, Mont. — Shannan Piccolo walked into a hotel with a tote bag full of Narcan and a speech about how easy it is to use the…
Cognitive rehab may help older adults clear COVID-related brain fog
By Judith Graham/Kaiser Health News Eight months after falling ill with COVID-19, the 73-year-old woman couldn’t remember what her husband had told her a few hours before. She would forget…
Boost now or wait? Many wonder how best to ride out COVID’s next wave
By Sam Whitehead and Arthur Allen/Kaiser Health News Gwyneth Paige didn’t want to get vaccinated against covid-19 at first. With her health issues — hypertension, fibromyalgia, asthma — she wanted…
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is killing patients. Yet there is a simple way to stop it.
Four years ago, when Karen Giuliano went to a Boston hospital for hip replacement surgery, she was given a pale-pink bucket of toiletries issued to patients in many hospitals. Inside…
Vaccine and testing delays for monkeypox echo failures in early COVID-19 response
By Michelle Andrews/Kaiser Health News Andy Stone is one of the lucky ones. The New York City resident saw a tweet from a local AIDS activist saying that monkeypox vaccines would…