Health Care Costs

Latest California Healthline Stories

Wash, Dry, Enroll: Finding Medicaid Help at the Laundromat

State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access care. Now some are trying an alternative approach: meeting them at the laundromat.

Most Insurance Covers IUDs. Hers Cost More Than $14,000.

The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care, including many forms of contraception, without cost to patients — but not if they’re “grandfathered” plans, which predate the law.

Telehealth Companies Boost Ad Spending While Taking on More Complex Medicine

Telehealth startups including Ro and Nurx are spending millions to promote themselves as easy dispensers of medicines. Some companies offer care for birth control, sexual dysfunction, and more complex conditions, including behavioral health disorders and obesity.

Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos

A sweeping Trump administration order threw the nation’s health system into disarray Tuesday, as states and the health industry tried to make sense of what looked like a freeze on federal Medicaid funding.

A Program To Close Insurance Gaps for Native Americans Has Gone Largely Unused

Health leaders say a tool to boost medical coverage for Native Americans, a population that has long faced worse health outcomes than the rest of the nation, has been underused by many states and tribes since it was written into the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.

Covered California Hits Record Enrollment, but Key Subsidies in Jeopardy

Enhanced federal subsidies and more state aid for out-of-pocket costs have made health insurance purchased through California’s marketplace more affordable. It’s unclear if the incoming Republican Congress will extend the enhanced subsidies beyond 2025.