Latest California Healthline Stories
Journalists Dig Deep on Medical Debt and the Boundaries of AI in Health Care
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Watch: Still Paying Off Bills From Twins’ Birth. The Kids Are 10 Now.
Marcus and Allyson Ward explain to “CBS Mornings” how the premature birth of their twins left them with $80,000 in medical debt. A new KHN-NPR investigation reveals they are among 100 million people afflicted financially by the U.S. health system.
Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate
Under a budget passed by California lawmakers, the state will pay nonmedical workers who assist in pregnancy and labor up to $1,154 per birth through Medi-Cal, which is up significantly from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial offer of $450. Though it’s more than what most other states pay, many doulas say it falls short of the $3,600 they sought.
A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate
As a Senate committee considered legislation to reauthorize the FDA’s user fee program, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul agreed on a proposed amendment related to importing drugs from Canada, the U.K., and other nations.
Two Tennessee Abortion Clinics, Awaiting High-Court Ruling, Grapple With Uncertainty
The landmark Roe v. Wade decision could soon be overturned. Two Knoxville-based providers of reproductive health care wonder how — and if — they will continue to serve their patients.
States Extend Medicaid for New Mothers — Even as They Reject Broader Expansion
Most of the dozen states that haven’t fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but it’s only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.
Más de 100 millones de estadounidenses viven acosados por las deudas médicas
La investigación revela un problema mucho más extendido de lo que se había informado anteriormente. Esto se debe a que gran parte de la deuda que acumulan los pacientes figura como saldos de tarjetas de crédito, préstamos familiares o planes de pago a hospitales y otros proveedores médicos.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’
The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.
100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.