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Latest California Healthline Stories

Their Physical Therapy Coverage Ran Out Before They Could Walk Again

Health plans limit physical or occupational therapy sessions to as few as 20 a year, no matter the patient’s infirmities. The limits persist despite federal rules banning insurers from setting annual dollar limits on the care they will provide.

He Had Short-Term Health Insurance. His Colonoscopy Bill: $7,000.

After leaving his job to launch his own business, an Illinois man opted for a six-month health insurance plan. When he needed a colonoscopy, he thought it would cover most of the bill. Then he learned his plan’s limited benefits would cost him plenty.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Ax Falls at HHS

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department — which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned “Administration for a Healthy America” will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news.

Trump Turns Homelessness Response Away From Housing, Toward Forced Treatment

The Trump administration is moving to end the “Housing First” approach despite warnings from providers and homelessness experts that the shift won’t work. But with homelessness rising, President Donald Trump could find allies in blue cities and states as the public clamors for streets to be cleaned up.

‘I Am Going Through Hell’: Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers

Since the Trump administration began firing federal workers, they say they feel overwhelmed, have obtained or considered seeking psychiatric care and medication, and are anxious about paying their bills. And soon, their health insurance will run out.

Bill That Congressman Says Protects Medicaid Doesn’t — And Would Likely Require Cutting It

U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Long Island Republican, told his constituents that he voted for the House-passed GOP budget resolution because it protects Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. However, the bill charges a committee with making cuts that likely can’t be attained without slashing Medicaid.