Latest California Healthline Stories
How Banks and Private Equity Cash In When Patients Can’t Pay Their Medical Bills
Hospitals strike deals with financing companies, generating profits for lenders, and more debt for patients.
Abortion Issue Helps Limit Democrats’ Losses in Midterms
Although control of Congress was still undecided Wednesday, Republicans seemed poised to take power in the House, while the fate of the Senate remained too close to call. Economic issues were at the top of voters’ minds, but abortion access also played a large role in their decisions.
“Cuarto trimestre”: período clave para prevenir las muertes maternas
La mayoría de las muertes maternas, hasta un 84%, podrían prevenirse, revela un nuevo análisis de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enmfermedades.
Listen: Medical Bills Upended Her Life and Her Credit Score
Penny Wingard, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina, worries she won’t ever get out from under her medical debt despite new policies that are supposed to prevent medical debt from harming people’s credit scores.
Medical Debt Sunk Her Credit. New Changes From the Credit Reporting Agencies Won’t Help.
New policies to prevent unpaid medical bills from harming people’s credit scores are on the way. But the concessions made by top credit reporting companies may fall short for those with the largest debt — especially Black Americans in the South.
A Disability Program Promised to Lift People From Poverty. Instead, It Left Many Homeless.
A federal disability program meant to provide basic income for people unable to work has left many of its recipients homeless. Advocates for the poor say the crisis is growing worse as rents rise and Congress decides whether to make changes to the program that would affect millions of people.
Social Media Posts Criticize 988 Suicide Hotline for Calling Police. Here’s What You Need to Know.
The July launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was celebrated by many mental health providers and advocates, but it triggered concerns, too, from people who say using the service could lead to increased law enforcement involvement or forced hospitalization.
Listen: Julie Rovner Rehashes the ‘Roe’ Decision
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Medical Bills Can Shatter Lives. North Carolina May Act to ‘De-Weaponize’ That Debt.
Medical debt is most prevalent in the Southeast, where states have not expanded Medicaid and have few consumer protection laws. Now, North Carolina is considering two bills that could change that, making the state a leader in protecting patients from high medical bills.
Nueva meta de las escuelas de medicina: médicos que no discriminen a pacientes obesos
La investigación ha demostrado durante mucho tiempo que es menos probable que los médicos respeten a los pacientes con sobrepeso u obesos, incluso cuando casi las tres cuartas partes de los adultos en los Estados Unidos ahora pertenecen a una de esas categorías.