Latest California Healthline Stories
People With Disabilities Hope Autonomous Vehicles Deliver Independence
A pilot project in northern Minnesota aims to pave the way for fully autonomous vehicles to offer independence for people who can’t drive.
Listen: What Our 2-Year-Long Investigation Into Medical Debt Reveals
An award-winning project by KFF Health News and NPR found that at least 100 million people in the United States are saddled with medical bills they cannot pay — and exposed a health care system that systematically pushes people into debt.
El condado de Los Angeles ofrece terapia virtual gratuita de salud mental para estudiantes
La teleterapia desempeña un papel cada vez más importante en las escuelas del país, a medida que educadores y trabajadores sociales se enfrentan a la presión de abordar los crecientes problemas de salud mental.
Biology, Anatomy, and Finance? More Med Students Want Business Degrees Too
A majority of medical schools now offer dual MD-MBA programs, compared with just a quarter two decades ago. The number of medical students seeking a business degree has nearly tripled. This begs the question: Whom will these doctors serve more, patients or shareholders?
LA County Invests Big in Free Virtual Mental Health Therapy for K-12 Students
California is spending almost $5 billion to address a growing youth mental health crisis. In Los Angeles County, a contract with teletherapy provider Hazel Health is funding free therapy sessions for all interested students. School districts are grateful for the additional support, but express concerns about the remote arrangement.
Watch: She Had a Home and a Good-Paying Job. Then Illness and Debt Upended It All.
A chronic health diagnosis and medical debt reordered Sharon Woodward’s life.
Watch: Journalist Explores the Health Challenges and Costs Gunshot Survivors Face
KFF Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Being Black and Pregnant in the Deep South Can Be a Dangerous Combination
Being Black has always been dangerous for pregnant women and infants in the South. And researchers say things are continuing to move in the wrong direction.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Democrats See Opportunity in GOP Threats to Repeal Health Law
Sensing that Republicans are walking into a political minefield by threatening once again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Biden administration is looking to capitalize by rolling out a series of initiatives aimed at high drug prices and other consequences of “corporate greed in health care.” Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hears a case that could determine when and how much victims of the opioid crisis can collect from Purdue Pharma, the drug company that lied about how addictive its drug, OxyContin, really was. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann of KFF Health News’ sister podcast, “An Arm and a Leg,” about his investigation into hospitals suing their patients over unpaid bills.
Dodging the Medicare Enrollment Deadline Can Be Costly
As open enrollment ends, many people are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and less access to health care providers.