New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctor’s assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.
Your Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Need Not Be a Mystery
By Bernard J. Wolfson
A new California law requires health insurance companies to notify consumers how much remains on their deductibles and how close they are to their annual out-of-pocket spending limits.
Tu gasto de bolsillo en atención médica no debe ser un misterio
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Una ley de California firmada por el gobernador Gavin Newsom en octubre puede ayudar a clasificar una maraña de facturas médicas para entender qué cubre el plan de salud y cuándo comenzará la cobertura.
Atención primaria directa con un toque de Robin Hood
By Bernard J. Wolfson
St. Luke’s Family Practice es una respuesta local a los problemas sistémicos de la sanidad estadounidense, como el agotamiento de los médicos, la insatisfacción de los pacientes y el hecho de que millones de personas sigan careciendo de asistencia.
California Law Aims to Strengthen Access to Mental Health Services
By Bernard J. Wolfson
The law doesn’t take effect until July, but its passage should force insurers to expand their rosters of therapists. Here’s how you can challenge your health plan’s mental health services until then.
Shift in Child Hospice Care Is a Lifeline for Parents Seeking a Measure of Comfort and Hope
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Photos by Heidi de Marco
Terminally ill children, unlike adults, can get hospice services while continuing to receive life-extending or curative care. More than a decade after the inception of the federal policy, it is widely credited with improving the quality of life for ailing children and their families, even as some parents find themselves in a painful stasis.
Wildfire Smoke Is Here to Stay. Here’s How to Clean the Air Inside Your Home.
By Bernard J. Wolfson
There are many ways to cleanse indoor air of dangerous smoke particles, which are particularly harmful to people with chronic respiratory and cardiac conditions. Some are expensive, but cheap alternatives exist.
Providence-KP Team Up to Attract Patients in California’s Growing High Desert Region
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Providence, the country’s 10th-biggest hospital chain, says it’s too expensive to upgrade an older hospital, so it will join forces with giant Kaiser Permanente to build a new one.
California abre el Medi-Cal a adultos mayores indocumentados
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Photos by Heidi de Marco
El estado vuelve a ser pionero en su esfuerzo porque todos tengan seguro de salud, más allá de su estatus migratorio.
Effort to Decipher Hospital Prices Yields Key Finding: Don’t Try It at Home
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal “transparency” rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.
