Anna Gorman

Anna Gorman was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until April 2019.

@AnnaGorman

California: A Health Care Laboratory With Mixed Results

California frequently innovates to address its wide-ranging health care needs, but it has not always achieved its aims. A series of articles in the journal Health Affairs shows, among other things, that efforts to care for HIV patients, provide better access to reproductive services for low-income women and fill gaps in primary care have sometimes fallen flat.

Rehabilitation Plus Rehab? Jails Dispense Drugs To Treat Inmates’ Addictions

Rather than go cold turkey, inmates increasingly have the option to take medication to help beat addiction to opioids and other substances. But some warn these substitute drugs serve as another crutch — and a costly one at that.

Californians Living Longer With Cancer — Some Longer Than Others

A new study from the University of California-Davis shows a significant increase in five-year survival rates for more than 20 types of cancer, but with significant disparities by race, ethnicity and economic status. That is in line with the national trend.

Clinicians Who Learn Of A Patient’s Opioid Death Modestly Cut Back On Prescriptions

A study published Thursday shows that doctors, dentists and other medical providers cut overall opioid dosages by nearly 10 percent after receiving notification of a death from a medical examiner and information on safe prescribing.

New Southern California Medical School To Tackle Doctor Shortages

The Claremont Colleges plans to open a medical school in 2022, one of four to be announced or established in Southern California in recent years. It’s part of an effort to bring more physicians to underserved areas.

Out-Of-Pocket Costs Put HIV Prevention Drug Out Of Reach For Many At Risk

It’s getting increasingly difficult for patients to afford Truvada, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, because of the drug’s high price and insurance company efforts to restrict the use of coupons that shield patients from it.

California Clinic Screens Asylum Seekers For Honesty

As new federal policies make it harder to gain asylum in the U.S., foreign applicants try to improve their chances by having doctors evaluate their conditions — perhaps bolstering their stories of torture and violent persecution back home.