Latest California Healthline Stories
Number Of Dialysis Patients In California Surges
The increase — 46 percent over the past eight years — isn’t because the number of new kidney failure cases is rising. It’s because dialysis patients are living longer.
Counties Hit The Road To Treat Mental Health
A growing number of California counties are deploying RVs to address the mental health needs of residents in isolated regions.
A Long And Winding Road: Kicking Heroin In An Opioid ‘Treatment Desert’
Heather Menzel thought returning to her rural California hometown was the answer to her addiction problems. Then she discovered the town had no medical treatment options for her — but plenty of heroin.
Medi-Cal Sued For Pushing Patients Into Managed Care Despite Judges’ Orders
Advocates say California’s Medicaid program is violating its own rules by overturning decisions that would allow seriously ill patients to stay out of managed care and keep their doctors.
California Funds Nonprofits To Serve Food As Medicine
The state is investing $6 million in a three-year effort to deliver healthy meals and groceries to chronically ill Medi-Cal patients at doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals.
Congress Revamps HIV Housing Program To Benefit Areas Where Virus Is Spreading
The small federal program, whose funding was once based on an area’s cumulative number of cases, will now be more responsive to places where new outbreaks are occurring. Among major U.S. cities, Los Angeles will see the biggest increase in its share of the total spending.
Why A Pennsylvania Insurer’s Collapse Could Whack Californians In the Wallet
Little-known rules require all health insurance companies to help pay claims when any one of them fails. Penn Treaty failed big — and insurers around the country are likely to pass on those costs to policyholders. California consumers may be hit hardest.
Taking Stock of California’s Big Week In Health Care
California Healthline senior correspondent Emily Bazar dissects recent developments on KCRW and Capital Public Radio.
Under Trump, Hospitals Face Same Penalties Embraced By Obama
Federal records show that 2,573 hospitals around the country will have their Medicare payments reduced because they have too many patients readmitted.
Anthem’s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries
The nation’s second-largest insurer is shrinking its presence on Obamacare exchanges and in the broader individual market in response to prevailing uncertainty. California is just the latest — and the biggest — example.