What’s the cost of US student debt?
As nearly 45 million Americans and counting owe over $1.7 trillion in student debt, what’s the future of college affordability? Though the Biden administration has made historic strides in passing…
Category: Dateline USA
Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories impacting the lives of the Filipino-American community in the United States of America.
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Sign here? Financial agreements may leave doctors in the driver’s seat
Cass Smith-Collins jumped through hoops to get the surgery that would match his chest to his gender. Living in Las Vegas and then 50, he finally felt safe enough to…
WHO overturns dogma on airborne disease spread. The CDC might not act on it.
The World Health Organization has issued a report that transforms how the world understands respiratory infections like COVID-19, influenza, and measles. Motivated by grave missteps in the pandemic, the WHO…
EPA announces $28.7M for California lead pipe replacement to advance safe drinking water
SAN FRANCISCO – On Thursday, May 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $28,650,000 from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help California identify and replace lead service…
Millions were booted from Medicaid. The insurers that run it gained Medicaid revenue anyway
by Phil Galewitz KFF Health News Private Medicaid health plans lost millions of members in the past year as pandemic protections that prohibited states from dropping anyone from the government…
Exposed to Agent Orange at US bases, veterans face cancer without VA compensation
As a young GI at Fort Ord in Monterey County, California, Dean Osborn spent much of his time in the oceanside woodlands, training on soil and guzzling water from streams…
California is investing $500M in therapy apps for youth
by Molly Castle Work California Healthline Advocates fear it won’t pay off With little pomp, California launched two apps at the start of the year offering free behavioral health services…
‘We cannot balance California’s budget on the backs of crime victims’
Several hundred people are expected to gather on the steps of the California state Capitol in Sacramento on April 30 to ask Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature to…
One year after Medi-Cal renewals, health care expanded for Californians
A year ago, with the end of the federal COVID-19 emergency, California started redetermining eligibility for one out of three of its residents on Medi-Cal, its version of Medicaid. At…
Unsheltered people are losing Medicaid in redetermination mix-ups
by Aaron Bolton, MTPR KFF Health News KALISPELL — On a cold February morning at the Flathead Warming Center, Tashya Evans waited for help with her Medicaid application as others…
Biden administration sets higher staffing mandates
Most nursing homes don’t meet them The Biden administration finalized nursing home staffing rules Monday, April 22 that will require thousands of them to hire more nurses and aides —…
Medical providers still grappling with UnitedHealth cyberattack: ‘More devastating than COVID’
by Samantha Liss KFF Health News Two months after a cyberattack on a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary halted payments to some doctors, medical providers say they’re still grappling with the fallout,…
Newsom offers a compromise to protect indoor workers from heat
by Samantha Young KFF Health News SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has compromised on long-sought rules that would protect indoor workers from extreme heat, saying tens of thousands of…
How Medi-Cal is being transformed for one-third of Californians
California is on the national front lines of public health, transforming Medi-Cal to include services well beyond the doctor’s office. On April 11, Ethnic Media Services, California Black Media, and…
Lawsuit alleges Obamacare plan-switching scheme targeted low-income consumers
by Julie Appleby KFF Health News A wide-ranging lawsuit filed on Friday, April 12 outlines a moneymaking scheme by which large insurance sales agency call centers enrolled people into Affordable…
Nearly 1 in 4 adults dumped from Medicaid are now uninsured, survey finds
by Phil Galewitz KFF Health News Nearly a quarter of adults disenrolled from Medicaid in the past year say they are now uninsured, according to a survey released Friday that…
FDA announces recall of heart pumps linked to deaths and injuries
A pair of heart devices linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 14 deaths has received the FDA’s most serious recall, the agency announced on Monday, April 15. The…
Nearly 1 in 4 adults dumped from Medicaid are now uninsured, survey finds
by Phil Galewitz KFF Health News Nearly a quarter of adults disenrolled from Medicaid in the past year say they are now uninsured, according to a survey released Friday that…
California health workers may face rude awakening with $25 minimum wage law
SACRAMENTO — Nearly a half-million health workers who stand to benefit from California’s nation-leading $25 minimum wage law could be in for a rude awakening if hospitals and other health…
Congress likely to kick the can on COVID-era telehealth policies
NEARLY two hours into a Capitol Hill hearing focused on rural health, Rep. Brad Wenstrup emphatically told the committee’s five witnesses: “Hang with us.” Federal lawmakers face a year-end deadline…
Hate crimes are extremely difficult to convict, says California Attorney General Rob Bonta
FRESNO — An increasing number of hate crimes are being reported in California, but convictions continue to remain low, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Speaking to Ethnic Media Services…
Remembering our heroes and honoring their valor
AS they do every year on April 9, families, friends and advocates of Filipino World War II veterans gather in the National World War II Memorial, a massive bronze and…
PERA Act: US Senators propose $2.5 billion security boost for the Philippines
Bipartisan bill seeks to fortify US-Philippines alliance amidst regional security concerns United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced…
First-ever Listas campaign helps women prepare for emergencies
Women are among the leading groups primed for disaster preparation, according to the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES). As a result, CalOES is launching Listas, a first-of-its-kind campaign to…
‘Love is with me’ – 2nd Gen Asian Americans share challenges of care giving for elderly immigrant parents
The tradition of caring for one’s aging parents is embedded in Asian culture. But 2nd generation AAPIs face multiple challenges in caring for their immigrant parents, including a lack of support,…
Breaking cultural stigmas around Alzheimer’s
Stigma around Alzheimer’s disease — the second-leading cause of death in California — prevents many communities from getting help. In response, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is launching…
Fil-Ams, Indian Americans have lowest poverty rates among Asians in US
Study shows that 1 in 10 Asian Americans live at or below the poverty line, but poverty rates vary widely depending on the country of origin LOS ANGELES – The…
Your doctor or your insurer? Little-known rules may ease the choice in Medicare Advantage
Bart Klion, 95, and his wife, Barbara, faced a tough choice in January: The upstate New York couple learned that this year they could keep either their private, Medicare Advantage…
White House announces big changes for race and ethnicity data collection
by Sunita Sohrabji Ethnic Media Services The White House March 28 morning rolled out new standards for race and ethnicity data collection, including for the first time Middle Easterners and…
Four years after shelter-in-place, COVID-19 misinformation persists
From spring break parties to Mardi Gras, many people remember the last major “normal” thing they did before the novel coronavirus pandemic dawned, forcing governments worldwide to issue stay-at-home advisories…