Latest California Healthline Stories
RFK Jr.’s Hearing With Senate HELP Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner, Stephanie Armour, and Darius Tahir and KFF’s Jennifer Kates break down the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as HHS secretary — and answer your questions.
The GOP’s Trying Again To Cut Medicaid. It’s Only Gotten Harder Since 2017.
Donald Trump is back in the White House, the GOP controls Congress, and Republicans have dusted off their 2017 plans to reshape Medicaid, the government health program for those with low incomes or disabilities.
Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts
Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.
Listen: Black Swimmers Make Waves Overcoming Fear and Old Perceptions
Segregation and lack of access have kept many Black Americans from learning to swim, which raises their risk of drowning. Groups across the country are working to teach more Black kids and adults the skills to save their lives, or someone else’s.
After Promising Universal Health Care, Gov. Newsom Must Reconsider Immigrant Coverage
Gov. Gavin Newsom was elected to office in 2019 on a promise of universal health care. He dramatically expanded coverage, but after six years, the Democrat is forced to contemplate deep cuts — including to the nation’s largest health care expansion to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Readers Scrutinize Federal Cuts and Medical Debt
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Medicaid Payments Barely Keep Hospital Mental Health Units Afloat. Federal Cuts Could Sink Them.
Patients seeking mental health care are more likely to be on Medicaid than patients in more profitable areas of care, such as cancer or cardiac treatment.
An Arm and a Leg: A Health Policy Veteran Puts 2025 in Perspective
Two stories from Washington, D.C., give listeners a sense of what changes the Trump administration has been making to health policy, with KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner and Arthur Allen.
Honey, Sweetie, Dearie: The Perils of Elderspeak
A new training program teaches workers to stop the baby talk and address older people as adults.
Trump Team Faces Key Legal Decision That Could Put Mental Health Parity in Peril
The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce laws requiring parity in insurance coverage of mental and physical health care.