Latest California Healthline Stories
Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Have Plummeted Under Trump, Jeopardizing Care
The renowned research hospital that cares for people with rare or life-threatening diseases has been pummeled by an employee exodus and the gutting of research, both driven by the Trump administration.
Cosmetic Surgeries Led to Disfiguring Injuries, Patients Allege
A joint investigation by KFF Health News and NBC News found that cosmetic surgery chains have been the target of scores of medical malpractice and negligence lawsuits, including 12 wrongful death cases.
Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed
For-profit hospitals provide most inpatient physical therapy but tend to have worse readmission rates to general hospitals. Medicare doesn’t tell consumers about troubling inspections.
Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help
Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. If they don’t, a new tool might empower the public.
A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400.
A family living in Galveston was surprised to be charged thousands of dollars for immunizations for their children. Their insurance plan didn’t cover the shots, and the cost of the measles vaccine in particular was more than five times what health officials say it goes for in the private sector.
Trump Team’s Reworking Delays Billions in Broadband Build-Out
A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.
Ballad Health’s Hospital Monopoly Underperformed. Then Tennessee Lowered the Bar.
Ballad Health, a state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in Tennessee and Virginia, can now be deemed a “clear and convincing” benefit to the public with performance that would earn a “D” on most grading scales, according to Tennessee state documents.
A Medicaid Patient Had a Heart Attack While Traveling. He Owed Almost $78,000.
Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state’s Medicaid program.
Pain Clinic CEO Faced 20 Years for Making Patients ‘Human Pin Cushions.’ He Got 18 Months.
Michael Kestner, CEO of Pain MD, was convicted of 13 fraud felonies after his company gave patients hundreds of thousands of questionable injections at clinics in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts
Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.