Latest California Healthline Stories
How Lifesaving Organs For Transplant Go Missing In Transit
Scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are trashed each year and many more become critically delayed while being shipped on commercial airliners, a new investigation finds.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Happy Friday! In news that is technically really good and exciting but is also kind of icky: yarn made from human skin could eventually be used to stitch up surgical wounds as a way to cut down on detrimental reactions from patients. As CNN reports, “The researchers say their ‘human textile,’ which they developed from […]
Women Shouldn’t Get A Bill For An IUD … But Sometimes They Do
The Affordable Care Act requires that insurers cover birth control with no out-of-pocket costs, but the enforcement mechanism is weak and a pending court case could add further complications.
Patients Stuck With Bills After Insurers Don’t Pay As Promised
Insurance companies often require patients to have medical procedures, devices, tests and even some medicines preapproved to ensure the insurers are willing to cover the costs. But that doesn’t guarantee they’ll end up paying. Some patients are getting stuck with unexpected bills after the medical service has been provided.
On Drug Pricing, The President’s Numbers Are Still Off
We checked again. The data has not changed.
Patients Caught In Crossfire Between Giant Hospital Chain, Large Insurer
Insurance giant Cigna and San Francisco-based Dignity Health have failed to ink a 2020 contract, leaving nearly 17,000 patients in California and Nevada scrambling to find new health care providers. Meanwhile, Dignity faces financial and legal challenges while it strives to implement its merger with Catholic Health Initiatives, which created one of the nation’s largest Catholic hospital systems.
What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You
If you’re told Medicare’s home health benefits have changed, don’t believe it: Coverage rules haven’t been altered and people are still entitled to the same types of services. All that has changed is how Medicare pays agencies.
Beyond Burnout: Docs Decry ‘Moral Injury’ From Financial Pressures Of Health Care
Doctors and other clinicians say they’re enduring moral injury because the business of health care interferes with patient care.
Why Home Health Care Is Suddenly Harder To Come By For Medicare Patients
Medicare has changed how it pays for services. In response, agencies across the country are firing therapists, limiting physical, occupational and speech therapy, and terminating services for some longtime, severely ill patients.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.