Latest California Healthline Stories
Paper Jam: California’s Medicaid Program Hits ‘Print’ When The Feds Need Info
Amid the buzz over apps and electronic medical records rescuing modern medicine, California’s Medicaid program still clings to 1970s-era technology. A reboot may cost half a billion dollars.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ A Detour On A Smoking Off-Ramp
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about the Food and Drug Administration’s latest actions to address teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes, Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements and news about the uninsured from the latest federal Census report.
Much Touted For Cancer, ‘Precision Medicine’ Often Misses The Target
Doctors and hospitals love to talk about the patients they’ve saved with precision medicine, and reporters love to write about them. But the people who die still vastly outnumber the rare successes.
California’s Uninsured Rate Declined Last Year Despite Federal Efforts To Roll Back ACA
The percentage of people without insurance in California continued its decline in 2017, despite Republican efforts in Washington, D.C. to roll back the Affordable Care Act. The uninsured rate now stands 10 percentage points below its level in 2013 — the year before the coverage expanding provisions of the federal health law took effect, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Remedy For Surprise Medical Bills May Lie In Stitching Up Federal Law
The wide-ranging law has the potential to blindside many consumers whose health care comes from company and union health plans that are “self-funded,” meaning they pay claims out of their own funds.
Confusion Leaves Low-Income Children In Health Care Limbo
Some low-income children in California are not getting medical, dental and mental health treatments to which they are entitled under federal law. Legal aid advocates blame a confusing disconnect between state and federal law, and a bill to address the problem is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval — or veto.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Insulin’s Steep Price Leads To Deadly Rationing
Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn’t afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.
As Treatable As Diabetes? Lawmakers Push New Ways To Stem Opioid Addiction
California lawmakers approved 14 measures to address the opioid crisis, including one that requires health plans to cover medication-based treatments for opioid addiction without requiring pre-authorization. Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of September to approve or reject the proposals.
The High Cost Of Hope: When The Parallel Interests Of Pharma And Families Collide
Desperate for help in finding a lifesaving drug for a fatal genetic disease, families banded together to fund early research and then worked with drug companies on clinical trials and marketing. Yet, this small patient advocacy group is stunned by pharma’s pricing.