Health Care Costs

Latest California Healthline Stories

Ad Check: What Happens If California Limits Dialysis Center Profits?

By Harriet Blair Rowan

Both sides in the contentious and expensive battle over California’s Proposition 8 are cherry-picking the facts ahead of Tuesday’s vote as dialysis companies spend record amounts to persuade voters through ads.

In Search Of Insurance Savings, Consumers Can Get Unwittingly Wedged Into Narrow-Network Plans

By Steven Findlay

Restrictive lists of doctors and hospitals expose people to larger out-of-pocket costs, but trend appears to be slowing.

Novel Measures Test Cities’ Power — And Will — To Tame Health Care Costs

By Rob Waters

Union-backed initiatives in Palo Alto and Livermore, Calif., aim to cap charges by hospitals and doctors, seeking to build on national furor over rising medical bills. The measures arise in health care markets that are among the most expensive in the nation.

Spurred By Convenience, Millennials Often Spurn The ‘Family Doctor’ Model

By Sandra G. Boodman

These young adults are looking for medical care that is convenient, fast and offers cost transparency. They frequently seek treatment at retail clinics, urgent care centers or other options.

Drugmakers Funnel Millions To Lawmakers; A Few Dozen Get $100,000-Plus

By Emmarie Huetteman and Sydney Lupkin

Drugmakers’ contributions to lawmakers have peaked as surging drug prices emerge as a hot-button political issue. In the past decade, members of Congress have received nearly $79 million from 68 pharma PACs. And the giving crosses the aisle: In California, seven of the top 10 beneficiaries are Democrats — though Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House majority leader, tops other Golden State lawmakers in Congress by a wide margin.