Industry Groups Vie for New Medi-Cal Money
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
State officials have promised to boost funding for California’s Medicaid program by $11.1 billion starting next year, with most of that money earmarked for higher payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers. But the details have yet to be worked out, and powerful health industry groups are jockeying for position.
Congress Considers Easing Regulations on Air Transport of Donated Organs
By Colleen DeGuzman
A little-noticed provision of sweeping legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration would make it easier to fly human organs from donor to recipient.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Dangerous heat, air and water quality, Alzheimer’s, CARE Court, CalPERS insurance premiums, fentanyl, Medi-Cal, and more are in the news.
The Painful Legacy of ‘Law and Order’ Treatment of Addiction in Jail
By Renuka Rayasam
Efforts to improve addiction care in jails and prisons are underway across the country. But a rural Alabama county with one of the nation’s highest overdose rates shows how change is slow, while law enforcement officials continue to treat addiction as a crime rather than a medical condition.
Once the New Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Available, What About Cost and Coverage?
By Michelle Andrews
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval is viewed as groundbreaking, but many details still must be figured out.
¿Cuánto costará la píldora anticonceptiva de venta libre? ¿La cubrirán los seguros?
By Michelle Andrews
Los defensores de la salud reproductiva celebraron esta histórica aprobación como un paso que puede ayudar a millones de personas a evitar embarazos no deseados, que ocurren casi la mitad de las veces en los Estados Unidos.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Record heat, homelessness, mental health, CARE courts, insurers, smoking, Alzheimer’s drug, RSV shot for infants, and more are in the news.
Epidemic: The Goddess of Smallpox
To defeat smallpox in South Asia, public health workers had to navigate the region’s layered cultural ideas about the virus. They also dreamed big. In Episode 1, host Céline Gounder wonders how the U.S. might tap into similar “moral imagination” to prepare for the next public health crisis.
Daily Edition for Monday, July 17, 2023
Mental health services, tainted drinking water, dangerous heat, covid hospitalizations, Medi-Cal, ACA taxes, and more are in the news.
Readers and Tweeters See Ways to Shore Up Primary Care
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
