Latest California Healthline Stories
Anti-Smoking Agencies Joining Forces
Three state agencies with a stake in tobacco cessation efforts are holding their first joint conference — and electronic cigarettes are high on their discussion list.
Exchange Survey Sets Table for Upcoming Open Enrollment Period
Covered California hopes to sign up at least 300,000 consumers in the enrollment period starting Nov. 1 — in part by reaching Californians who are eligible for subsidies but don’t know it.
Best Practices for Provider Directories? Study Aims To Inform California Lawmakers
Many first-time health insurance buyers rely on plans’ provider directories to select coverage or choose a doctor, so why is it so hard for insurers, Medicaid agencies and insurance exchanges to keep those lists up-to-date?
Decision on Social Security Could Affect Health Care Costs for State’s Seniors
There may be no cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year, which could mean hikes in Medicare premiums and deductibles along with half a billion dollars less for the state’s coffers.
Can Drug Companies Survive Their Martin Shkreli Moment?
The pharmaceutical industry has been under scrutiny for the past month, after one executive’s decision to hike the price of a drug by more than 5,000% overnight attracted the attention of presidential candidates.
State Scales Back Medicaid Waiver Request From $17 Billion to $7 Billion
CMS officials reportedly have shied from the type of funding formula advanced by California’s 1115 Medicaid waiver request.
Sonoma County Releases First-of-its-Kind Survey of Farmworker Health
Many children of farmworkers are eligible for health care coverage but are not getting it. That’s one of the findings of Sonoma County’s first comprehensive health survey of its farmworkers.
New Preventive Health Program Helps South L.A. Seniors Get ‘HAPPI’
Many South Los Angeles seniors are unaware of the availability of no-cost clinical preventive health services. The new “HAPPI” program aims to remedy that.
Hospitals Urged To Avoid Serving Meat From Livestock Raised on Antibiotics
UC-San Francisco scientists are lobbying health care providers — specifically hospitals — to stop serving meat from animals raised with antibiotics, saying the practice is endangering human health.
Report: Record Medicaid Growth, Reforms
A Kaiser Family Foundation report suggests Medicaid is playing a more significant role in the U.S. health care system following changes and expansion under the Affordable Care Act.