Latest California Healthline Stories
Covered California Expects 12.5% Average Rate Rise In 2018
The figure could be higher if President Trump ends an important consumer subsidy, which he has threatened to do. Anthem Blue Cross will pull out of the exchange and the overall individual market in 16 of 19 regions in the state.
State-Led Effort Helps Improve Blood Pressure Control Among Low-Income Patients
Nine Medi-Cal health plans joined the state in a program that helped them stabilize blood pressure among their members — but most still fell short of a federal goal intended to reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs At Risk After Trump Administration Budget Cuts
In California, seven programs were promised five-year grants worth about $7.9 million annually to help teens avoid early parenthood. Now their funding — along with that of scores of similar projects nationally — has been shut off early.
Want To Know Your Hospital’s C-Section Rate? Yelp Is On The Way.
The review site aims to help women make better-informed choices about where to deliver their babies.
Rural Californians Want Price Relief From GOP Health Bill, But Unlikely To Get It
In far northern Lassen and Modoc counties, residents say Obamacare premiums are unaffordable. But under the proposed Senate bill, insurance premiums would increase even more.
Jump-Starting Hard Conversations As The End Nears
An end-of life-planning website can encourage patients to tackle that difficult topic before they become too ill to communicate, according to a new study. But they may be more likely to make concrete plans with help from a doctor or social worker.
California Valley Fever Cases Highest On Record
Nearly 5,400 cases of the soil-borne fungal disease were reported in 2016, the largest number since the state began tracking the illness in 1995, according to public health officials.
What’s At Stake For California In Next Round Of Health Care Battle?
The state was poised to release insurance exchange rates for 2018 — but it backed off for now because of the political upheaval in Washington.
Settlement Reached On Kaiser Permanente’s Repeated Mental Health Care Deficiencies
Under the agreement with California regulators, the HMO giant is required to fix delays in patient care, with the guidance of a consultant. The document acknowledges Kaiser has made progress by hiring hundreds of therapists.
The failure this week of the U.S. Senate’s ACA repeal effort was one more twist in the ongoing political drama that has complicated routine rate setting for insurers and state officials.