Latest California Healthline Stories
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’
Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
Biden Said Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Cut the Deficit by $160B. That’s Years Away.
Savings estimated by the Congressional Budget Office from allowing the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices are based on a 10-year cumulative projection.
Telehealth Sites Promise Cure for ‘Male Menopause’ Despite FDA Ban on Off-Label Ads
Most healthy men produce sufficient testosterone as they age. Yet online ads and telehealth sites are promoting testosterone drugs with flawed promises of boosting libido and busting stomach fat.
California’s Expanded Health Coverage for Immigrants Collides With Medicaid Reviews
A state policy to extend Medi-Cal to qualified Californians without legal residency is running up against a federal requirement to resume eligibility checks. The redetermination process is causing many Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, to be disenrolled.
Rapid Rise in Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest
With U.S. syphilis rates climbing to the worst level in seven decades, public health experts and the federal Indian Health Service are scrambling to detect and treat the disease in Native American communities, where babies are infected at a higher rate than in any other demographic.
Watch: Many Americans Are Unaware of HIV Prevention Medication
Some Americans mistakenly believe medication to prevent HIV transmission through sex is just for certain groups such as gay men, but anyone who’s at risk for contracting HIV through sex could benefit.
Cómo evitar el pánico infantil por las jeringas, que puede continuar en la adultez
La angustia por el dolor de la jeringa puede seguir a los niños mientras crecen e interferir con la atención preventiva importante. Se estima que una cuarta parte de todos los adultos tienen miedo a las jeringas, un miedo que comenzó en la infancia.
Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.
The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children’s hospitals in Northern California.