Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

Drivers Convicted Of First-Time DUI Offenses Will Soon Have To Pass A Breathalyzer Test To Start Cars

The devices also require random tests while in motion, to prevent the driver from drinking after they’ve passed the first test. Advocates for the new law say it’s a better way to keep the roads safe than taking away drivers licenses.

Individual Mandate Has Long Been One Of Most Controversial Parts Of Health Law, But Has It Become Superfluous?

Health law sign ups for 2019 dipped only slightly even though Congress zeroed out the penalty for not having insurance. The numbers suggest that people are participating in the ACA exchanges because they value the coverage not because they’re worried about paying fines, experts say. Meanwhile, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has asked a judge to block exemptions to the health law’s contraception mandate.

In Likely Preview Of What’s To Come Next Year, VA Secretary Grilled By Increasingly Critical Congress

Fixing the problems that have plagued the VA is one likely area where a divided Congress could find common ground, and Secretary Robert L. Wilkie at a joint House-Senate hearing got a taste of what’s likely to be a less friendly audience than he may be used to.

Detention Facilities For Migrant Youth Packed With Thousands Of Children Like Overcrowded Orphanages Of Days Past

Information about just how many children are being held at the facilities has been spotty, but an Associated Press investigation highlights the true breadth of the problem. “No matter how a person feels about immigration policy, very few people hate children — and yet we are passively allowing bad things to happen to them,” said Dr. Jack Shonkoff, who heads Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will testify about a 7-year-old girl’s death while in U.S. custody.

How GOP’s Long-Sought Victory In Health Law Ruling Could Become A Headache That Lingers Into 2020 Elections

Republicans had already stripped away or blunted the more unpopular provisions in the health law, even if they never repealed it completely. What was left were the ideas that enjoy bipartisan support — such as protections for preexisting conditions coverage. And Republicans have struggled to come up with a viable replacement for the law, which has reshaped the country’s health care landscape to set certain expectations with the American public. Meanwhile, GOP senators blocked a resolution to intervene in the Texas lawsuit.

Health Law 2019 Sign-Ups Drop, But Beat Dire Predictions With Help From Last-Minute Surge

The number who enrolled totaled 8.45 million, down from 8.82 million at the same point last year — a decrease of about 4 percent. Sign-ups had been lagging at about 10 percent throughout the open enrollment season despite a more stable marketplace and lower premiums. While Democrats blamed the lower numbers on the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the law, CMS officials say a lower employment rate contributed to more people finding insurance elsewhere.

State Officials Hit Oxnard Hospital With $40,400 Fine After Needle Is Left In Patient’s Body

Officials said the doctor and the operating room staff at St. John’s Regional Medical Center didn’t follow policies that include accurate counts of surgical instruments and X-rays to make sure objects aren’t left in patients.