Latest California Healthline Stories
For Low-Income Drug Users, Medi-Cal Offers A Fresh Start
Under a five-year agreement with the federal government, California is using Medicaid dollars to expand drug treatment, including more inpatient care and a broader range of medications.
Calif. Hits Kaiser With $2.2 Million Fine For Failing To Provide Required Medicaid Data
It’s the second fine this year for California’s largest health plan, the only one to be penalized by Medi-Cal officials since at least 2000. The HMO says it will hand the information over by next month.
New Commission Plans To Address State Health Care Worker Shortage
Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Anna Gorman discussed the shortage Thursday with KPCC’s Libby Denkman, on the radio station’s Take Two program.
What Happens If You’re Forced To Switch Health Plans When You’re Sick?
State lawmakers in California have an answer: legislation that would require your new insurer to keep paying for your current doctors even if they’re not in the network.
To Ensure The Doctor Is Always In, New Panel Tackles Health Worker Shortage
The California Future Health Workforce Commission will produce recommendations intended to meet the demand for medical professionals in a state with a growing and increasingly diverse population.
Home Visits Help New Parents Overcome Tough Histories, Raise Healthy Children
A program that provides $400 million in federal funding for the visits expires next month. Advocates and providers hope it will be reauthorized with a higher level of funding — but some worry that might not happen.
Anthem’s Exit Leaves Thousands With No Choice Of Health Plans
When Anthem Blue Cross pulls out of the individual market next year, about 60,000 Covered California enrollees, plus others who buy insurance outside of the exchange, will have only one health plan in their areas.
For Covered California, Uncertainty Is The New Certainty
The state health insurance exchange made three multimillion-dollar decisions Thursday that were motivated by the lack of clarity from the federal government on key health policy issues.
Fate Of San Francisco’s Ban On Flavored Tobacco Products Is Now Up To Voters
Tobacco industry bankrolled an effort to stall the city’s new anti-tobacco ordinance, which business owners argue would lead to millions in lost sales annually.
Number Of Dialysis Patients In California Surges
The increase — 46 percent over the past eight years — isn’t because the number of new kidney failure cases is rising. It’s because dialysis patients are living longer.