Latest California Healthline Stories
Democrats Roll the Dice on Sweeping Abortion Rights Bill — Again
Capitol Hill lawmakers mobilize to support a bill that would write abortion protections into federal law. Unlikely to succeed, the exercise follows a tactic that proved unsuccessful in 1992.
The Checkup Is in the Mail? Soliciting Letter Carriers to Help Deliver Health Care
Here’s an out-of-the-box idea: Have letter carriers spend less time delivering mail and take time to perform home visits and basic health checks on the growing population of frail and elderly.
Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked an FDA Chief
The Food and Drug Administration has been mired in controversies related to drug approvals and covid vaccines, all without a permanent leader.
At an Overrun ICU, ‘the Problem Is We Are Running Out of Hallways’
Billings Clinic in Montana is past the tipping point as it looks for places to add intensive care unit beds and is on the cusp of rationing care to deal with the surge of sick covid patients in a state with significant anti-vaccination sentiment.
Will ‘Dr. Disinformation’ Ever Face the Music?
Some of the top spreaders of spurious covid-19 and vaccine information are physicians with active medical licenses. Are medical oversight boards ready to step up to stop them?
‘An Arm and a Leg’: They Turned Grief Into Action
This episode highlights how New York enacted a charity care law, one of the precursors to the federal provision on charity care in the Affordable Care Act.
Congress Cites KHN Investigation in Probe of National Academies
The House oversight committee is requesting conflict-of-interest disclosure forms from a National Academies committee studying organ transplants. KHN previously reported on apparent conflicts among members of a committee studying drug waste.
The Solution to Au Pairs’ Health Coverage Gaps May Be Simple: ACA Plans
Private agencies that bring young adults to the U.S. to care for children generally offer basic health insurance, but plans may exclude many types of necessary care. What the agencies might not mention is that au pairs are eligible to enroll in comprehensive coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and likely qualify for premium subsidies that would make the insurance affordable.
Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough to Face the Delta Variant?
Public health experts increasingly urge people to upgrade to surgical masks, but also maintain that cloth masks still offer protection.
I Got a ‘Mild’ Breakthrough Case. Here’s What I Wish I’d Known.
I was miserable for five days, am fully recovered a month later and have learned even more about what we do and don’t know about covid now.