Latest California Healthline Stories
Why At-Home Rapid Covid Tests Cost So Much, Even After Biden’s Push for Lower Prices
Germans pay less than $1 per test. Brits get them free. Why do Americans pay so much more? Because companies can still demand it.
Health Care Unions Defending Newsom From Recall Will Want Single-Payer Payback
If Gov. Gavin Newsom survives Tuesday’s recall election, the health care unions that have campaigned on his behalf intend to pressure him to follow through on his promise to establish a government-run health system in California.
Journalists Explain Ramifications of Theranos Trial and Texas’ New Abortion Law
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.
ECMO Life Support Is a Last Resort for Covid, and in Short Supply in South
Many more people could benefit from the lifesaving treatment than are receiving it, which has made for messy triaging as the delta variant surges across the South and in rural communities with low covid vaccination rates.
It’s Not Just Covid: Recall Candidates Represent Markedly Different Choices on Health Care
Those seeking to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Tuesday’s recall election disagree with him on more than mask and vaccine mandates. The conservative candidates tend to favor free-market solutions over Newsom’s expansion of publicly funded health coverage.
‘Luckiest Man Alive’: Why 9/11 First Responders’ Outlooks May Improve Even as Physical Health Fails
The New York City Fire Department’s 20-year report on the health consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks finds that first responders consistently report mental health quality-of-life indicators that are better than those of average Americans, even as their physical health declines.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Future of Public Health
The covid pandemic has spotlighted the often-unseen role of public health in Americans’ daily lives. And the picture has not all been pretty. What is public health and why is it so important — and controversial? Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, explains the basics. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Lauren Weber of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss what could happen next.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: How Charity Care Made It Into the ACA
In this episode, we hear how the political tango over guaranteeing that nonprofit hospitals provide charity care nearly tanked the Affordable Care Act — and how the battle over the ACA “broke America.”
Even in Red States, Colleges Gravitate to Requiring Vaccines and Masks
As students return to campus, schools across the country are taking steps to enforce public health advice to keep people safe from covid. In deeply conservative South Carolina when elected officials tried to stop that, a professor took on the establishment and won.
Listen: Many Schools Are Buying High-Tech Air Purifiers. What Should Parents Know?
Studies have shown that better ventilation and air circulation can greatly reduce covid-19 transmission. But rather than stocking up on HEPA filters, some school districts are turning to high-tech air purification strategies.