Latest California Healthline Stories
Expectant Mom Needed $15,000 Overnight to Save Her Twins
Doctors rushed a pregnant woman to a surgeon who charged thousands upfront just to see her. The case reveals a gap in medical billing protections for those with rare, specialized conditions.
Doctors’ Lesson for Drug Industry: Abortion Wars Are Dangerous to Ignore
The American Medical Association ducked the abortion issue for years and now sees its members’ professional opinions second-guessed by lawmakers and judges. PhRMA is following the same playbook.
Watch: Rulings on Abortion Pill Have Far-Reaching Repercussions
Sarah Varney, a senior correspondent for KHN, joins Ali Rogin of PBS NewsHour to discuss the ruling by a federal judge in Texas that threatens nationwide access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone, and a separate ruling in Washington state that reached the opposite conclusion.
California Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine for Incoming College Students
A state lawmaker wants all incoming college students to get an HPV vaccine, as part of a push to drive up vaccination rates and prevent cervical cancer. At least four other states have enacted a similar mandate.
Abortion Clinics in Conservative-Led States Face Increasing Legal Threats
Since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed federal protections for abortions, medical providers in conservative-led states have been fighting legal and political battles — as well as escalating threats from the anti-abortion movement.
California: proyecto de ley exigiría que estudiantes universitarios se vacunen contra el VPH
Estudios han confirmado que la vacuna contra el VPH reduce el riesgo de desarrollar cáncer en casi un 90% cuando se administra a niñas y niños en la adolescencia temprana, presumiblemente antes de que estén expuestos a cepas peligrosas del virus.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ‘Unwinding’ of Medicaid
As of April 1, states were allowed to begin reevaluating Medicaid eligibility for millions of Americans who qualified for the program during the covid-19 pandemic but may no longer meet the income or other requirements. As many as 15 million people could lose health coverage as a result. Meanwhile, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is projected to stay solvent until 2031, its trustees reported, taking some pressure off of lawmakers to finally fix that program’s underlying financial weaknesses. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Daniel Chang, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a child not yet old enough for kindergarten whose medical bill landed him in collections.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Judicial Body Blow to the ACA
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law’s main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Policy, and Politics, of Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage, the private-sector alternative to original Medicare, now enrolls nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries. But it remains controversial because — while most of its subscribers like the extra benefits many plans provide — the program frequently costs the federal government more than if those seniors remained in the fully public program. That controversy […]
Judge Signals He Could Rule to Halt Sales of Common Abortion Pill
A U.S. District Court case is being widely followed because the judge’s decision could overturn the FDA’s approval of mifepristone two decades ago. With abortion rights polling well even in red states, anti-abortion activists are increasingly turning to the courts to achieve their aims.