Latest California Healthline Stories
For People With Visual Impairments, Truly Secret Ballots Are Elusive
Voters in several states who live with visual impairments must rely on family and friends to fill out their mail-in or absentee paper ballots, compromising their privacy. More states are relying on mail-in and absentee voting to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Verily’s COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland
Health officials in San Francisco and Alameda counties have cut ties with Verily’s state-funded COVID testing sites amid concerns about data collection and privacy.
Workers Fired, Penalized for Reporting COVID Safety Violations
Many workers are resisting what they feel are unsafe, unhealthy conditions as companies restart. A few states have passed laws specifically aimed at protecting workers who face COVID-related safety risks and retaliation for speaking up, but advocates say stronger federal protections are needed.
Déjà Vu for California Voters on Dialysis
Californians are again being asked to weigh in on a dialysis ballot measure. This one purports to target patient safety, and dialysis industry giants are once again spending big to defeat it.
Travel on Thanksgiving? Pass the COVID
Staying home in your bubble is the safest advice, but family get-togethers, especially at the holidays, mean an awful lot. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci has gone back and forth on whether to have his daughters fly in for Thanksgiving.
Analysis: Winter Is Coming for Bars. Here’s How to Save Them. And Us.
To stop the coronavirus, we need to stop super-spreader events.
Californians Asked to Pony Up for Stem Cell Research — Again
More than a decade of research tied to California’s stem cell agency hasn’t yielded many cures or much revenue. But backers of a ballot initiative that asks voters for billions more in funding say the work is vital for patients and the scientific community.
Despite Pandemic Threat, Gubernatorial Hopefuls Avoid COVID Nitty-Gritty
As the pandemic continues to cast shadows on everyday life, some candidates for governor are talking about everything except the specifics of how they would manage COVID-19 into the future.
UVA Health Still Squeezing Money From Patients — By Seizing Their Home Equity
The University of Virginia promised reforms but has stopped short of announcing them, while hospital giant VCU Health has freed tens of thousands from property liens.
Most Home Health Aides ‘Can’t Afford Not to Work’ — Even When Lacking PPE
Home health aides flattened the curve by keeping the most vulnerable patients — seniors, the disabled, the infirm — out of hospitals. But they’ve done it mostly at poverty wages and without overtime pay, hazard pay, sick leave or health insurance.