California

Latest California Healthline Stories

FDA Move to Ban Hair Relaxer Chemical Called Too Little, Too Late

The FDA’s recent notice that it would move to ban formaldehyde in hair-straightening products comes more than a decade after researchers raised alarms about health risks. Scientists say a ban would still leave many dangerous chemicals in hair straighteners.

Is Housing Health Care? State Medicaid Programs Increasingly Say ‘Yes’

States are using their Medicaid programs to offer poor and sick people housing services, such as paying six months’ rent or helping hunt for apartments. The trend comes in response to a growing homelessness epidemic, but experts caution this may not be the best use of limited health care money.

Back From COP28, California Climate Leaders Talk Health Impacts of Warming

Three leading California officials who represented the state at the United Nations climate talks late last year reflect on climate change’s growing threat to human health — and explain what the state is trying to do about it.

Ketamine Therapy for Mental Health a ‘Wild West’ for Doctors and Patients

Ketamine, approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, is emerging as a major alternative mental health treatment, and there are now more than 500 ketamine clinics around the country. But with little regulation and widely varying treatment protocols, it’s a medical “wild West.”

988-Hotline Counselors Air Concerns: More Training Needed to Juggle a Mix of Calls

Dozens of crisis counselors responded to a survey about their work experiences, painting a picture of uneven training, uncertainty about how long to stay on the line, and different policies on whether to inform a caller when police are on their way.

In Los Angeles, Occupational Therapists Tapped to Help Homeless Stay Housed

Los Angeles County is deploying a small team of occupational therapists to help newly housed individuals adjust to life indoors. Therapists are trained to recognize disabilities and help with basic living skills, such as hygiene and cleanliness, that can help prevent clients from getting evicted or slipping back onto the streets.

What the Health Care Sector Was Selling at the J.P. Morgan Confab

When bankers and investors flocked to San Francisco for the largest gathering of health care industry investors, the buzz was all about artificial intelligence, the next hit weight-loss drug, and new opportunities to make money through nonprofit hospitals.

Climate Change Raises Pressure on Biden To Keep Workers Cooler

With climate change posing rising threats to human health, the Biden administration is drafting federal rules to protect construction crews, warehouse workers, delivery drivers and the rest of America’s workforce from extreme heat. The regulatory effort has been years in the making, and its fate is far from certain. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration […]