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Latest California Healthline Stories

Doctors Advocate Fresh Efforts to Combat Chagas Disease, a Silent Killer

Chagas disease, caused by a parasite, affects people primarily in rural Latin America. But an estimated 300,000 residents of the U.S. have the disease, which can cause serious heart problems. Patient advocates call for much more aggressive efforts to fight it.

Médicos abogan por nuevos esfuerzos para combatir al Chagas, un asesino silencioso

La enfermedad de Chagas, causada por un parásito, afecta principalmente a personas en las zonas rurales de Latinoamérica. Pero se estima que 300,000 personas en Estados Unidos viven con la enfermedad, que puede causar problemas cardíacos graves. Defensores de pacientes piden esfuerzos mucho más agresivos para combatirla.

A Peek at Big Pharma’s Playbook That Leaves Many Americans Unable to Afford Their Drugs

Brand-name drug prices in the U.S. — more than three times the price in other developed countries — are related neither to the amount of research and development required to bring them to market nor their therapeutic value, recent research shows. Have drugmakers overplayed their hand?

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Pill’s Legal Limbo Continues

A federal appeals court issued a split decision on whether the abortion pill mifepristone should remain on the market — rejecting a lower court’s decision to effectively cancel the drug’s FDA approval in 2000, while ordering the rollback of more recent rules that made the drug easier to obtain. Nothing changes immediately, however, as the Supreme Court blocked the lower court’s ruling in the spring. It will be up to the high court to determine whether the pill remains available in the U.S. and under which conditions. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

Journalists Talk Madera Hospital Bankruptcy Woes and Savings for Covered California Enrollees

California Healthline senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson and Fresno Bee reporter Melissa Montalvo discuss community efforts to save a bankrupt hospital from liquidation. California Healthline contributing radio correspondent Stephanie O’Neill Patison reports how lawmakers won additional Covered California subsidies.

Doctors Hesitate to Ask About Patients’ Immigration Status Despite New Florida Law

Florida’s new immigration law requires hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status at admission and in emergency rooms, and report that information plus the cost of care for residents without legal status. Doctors and nurses who oppose the policy seem reluctant to criticize lawmakers for fear of political retribution.