Health Industry Wields Power in California’s High-Stakes Battle to Lower Health Care Costs
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to regulate out-of-control health care spending in California. The effort is being shaped by the very health industry players that would be regulated.
Another Soda Tax Bill Dies. Another Win for Big Soda.
By Samantha Young
A bill that would have allowed California cities and counties to once again pursue taxes on sugary drinks was just shelved in the legislature without a hearing. Public health advocates blame the political — and financial — clout of the soft drink industry.
Otra victoria para la industria: fracasa proyecto de ley de impuestos a sodas
By Samantha Young
En los últimos cuatro años, las empresas de refrescos gastaron alrededor de $5,9 millones presionando a legisladores de California y haciendo donaciones a sus campañas u organizaciones benéficas favoritas.
It’s Not Just Covid: Recall Candidates Represent Markedly Different Choices on Health Care
By Samantha Young and Rachel Bluth
Those seeking to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Tuesday’s recall election disagree with him on more than mask and vaccine mandates. The conservative candidates tend to favor free-market solutions over Newsom’s expansion of publicly funded health coverage.
California quiere producir su propia insulina para bajar su alto costo, ¿lo conseguirá?
By Angela Hart
La administración del gobernador Gavin Newsom señaló que aproximadamente 4 millones de californianos han sido diagnosticados con diabetes, una enfermedad que puede destruir órganos, la vista y llevar a amputaciones si no se controla. La meta es prevenirlo con insulina más económica.
California Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine for Incoming College Students
By Rachel Scheier
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.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer
By Lynne Shallcross
The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.
Cozy Images of Plush Toys and Blankets Counter Messaging on Safe Infant Sleep
By Colleen DeGuzman
Unsafe sleep environments are among the main reasons accidental suffocation or strangulation is a hard-to-solve public health problem.
Could Better Inhalers Help Patients, and the Planet?
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
Puff inhalers can be lifesavers for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases, but some types release potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. That, in turn, worsens wildfires, contributes to air pollution, and intensifies allergy seasons — which can increase the need for inhalers. Some doctors are helping patients switch to more eco-sensitive inhalers.
State Inks Sweetheart Deal With Kaiser Permanente, Jeopardizing Medicaid Reforms
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Angela Hart and Samantha Young
The backroom deal with politically connected Kaiser Permanente, which infuriated other Medi-Cal health plans, allows the health care giant to continue selecting the enrollees it wants.
