Latest California Healthline Stories
Stranded by the Pandemic, He Had Only Travel Insurance. It Left Him With a $38,000 Bill.
Although it’s possible to buy travel insurance that provides some health coverage, the devil is in the fine print. Obama-era laws that prevent refusal of payment for preexisting conditions don’t apply to travel insurance.
California Plans for a Post-Roe World as Abortion Access Shrinks Elsewhere
While other states dramatically restrict abortion and the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court weighs Roe v. Wade, California is preparing to absorb the country’s abortion patients.
A Judge Takes His Mental Health Struggles Public
Tim Fall, a sitting judge in California’s Yolo County, decided to break the silence on his mental health issues with a book published during a campaign year. Depression and anxiety, he says, shouldn’t disqualify candidates from any profession.
About 21% of patients in the U.S. diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely in California and across the country — and patients had no way of checking them.
Labs With No One to Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing the Field
Across California, public health departments are losing experienced staffers to exhaustion, partisan politics and jobs that pay more for less work. The public health nurses, epidemiologists and microbiologists who work to keep our communities healthy are abandoning the field.
Direct Primary Care, With a Touch of Robin Hood
Some doctors, sick of mainstream health care’s red tape, are finding refuge in practices that combine concierge medicine with charity care.
‘Down to My Last Diaper’: The Anxiety of Parenting in Poverty
Diapers are a baby essential, but no federal program helps families cover their considerable cost. Jennifer Randles, a professor of sociology at Fresno State, spoke with KHN about her novel research exploring the outsize role “diaper math” plays in the lives of low-income moms.
California’s Mental Health Crisis: What Went Wrong? And Can We Fix It?
KHN’s Angela Hart leads a lively discussion on the challenges facing California’s mental health care system and potential solutions. The panel was part of a broader symposium on mental health and addiction hosted by the Sacramento-based publication Capitol Weekly.
Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-to-School Challenges
For children with special needs returning to an L.A. classroom, mask-wearing is the least of their troubles.
Q&A: How Will California’s New 988 Mental Health Line Actually Work?
California Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored legislation to create and fund the state’s new 988 phone line for mental health emergencies, spoke with KHN about the effort and what more will be needed to create a full-fledged response network for people experiencing mental health crises.