Latest California Healthline Stories
Exclusive: Senator Urges Biden Administration To Thwart Fraudulent ACA Enrollments
With tens of thousands of Americans already affected by enrollment scams that leave some without doctors or treatments, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wants increased enforcement against rogue agents or other perpetrators and legislation to allow for criminal penalties.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Bird Flu Lands as the Next Public Health Challenge
Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings
Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.
Medical Providers Still Grappling With UnitedHealth Cyberattack: ‘More Devastating Than Covid’
Medical providers say they’re still coping with the Change Healthcare cyberattack disclosed in February even though parent company UnitedHealth Group reported that much is back to normal and its revenue is up over last year.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’
Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.
Congress Likely to Kick the Can on Covid-Era Telehealth Policies
With an end-of-year deadline and a presidential election approaching, payment rules that fueled rapid expansion of telehealth in the United States face a last-minute congressional decision.
Feds Join Ranks of Employers with Generous Fertility Benefits
Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures. At the same time, politics around IVF and reproductive health have become a central issue in the current election-year debate.
Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’
Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
Exclusive: Social Security Chief Vows to Fix ‘Cruel-Hearted’ Overpayment Clawbacks
New Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley is promising to change how the agency reclaims billions of dollars it wrongly pays to beneficiaries, saying the existing process is “cruel-hearted and mindless.”
Biden Said State of the Union Is Strong and Made Clear His Campaign Is Off and Running
President Joe Biden used his roughly 68-minute address to Congress to counter lackluster public approval ratings and draw clear contrasts between his administration’s policies and those of Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans. Abortion and health care were in the spotlight.