Latest California Healthline Stories
High Court Allows Employers To Opt Out Of ACA’s Mandate On Birth Control Coverage
In a 7-2 ruling in a case involving the Little Sisters of the Poor, the court said employers with a “religious or moral objection” to contraceptives should not be forced to insure women for those services.
Analysis: How A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cost Americans Dearly
The United States is the only developed nation unable to balance cost, efficacy and social good in setting prices.
COVID Cuts A Lethal Path Through San Quentin’s Death Row
Executions have been on hold in California since 2006, stalled by a series of legal challenges. But COVID-19 is proving a lethal presence on San Quentin’s death row.
COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills — because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
COVID-Tracking Apps Proliferate, But Will They Really Help?
Public health authorities had hoped digital technology would supplement the work of contact tracers seeking to control the spread of COVID-19. But technical uncertainties and public health failures have dimmed the apps’ potential.
‘Please Tell Me My Life Is Worth A LITTLE Of Your Discomfort,’ Nurse Pleads
Health care workers on the front lines of the COVID crisis have spent exhausting months working and self-quarantining off-duty to keep from infecting others, including their families. Encountering people who indignantly refuse face coverings can feel like a slap in the face.
Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction
The coronavirus has forced drug rehabilitation centers to scale back operations or temporarily close, leaving people who have another potentially deadly disease — addiction — with fewer opportunities for help.
2021 Health Plans Granted Leeway To Limit Consumers’ Benefit From Drug Coupons
A rule finalized this spring by the Trump administration permits employers and insurers not to apply drug company copayment assistance toward enrollees’ deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for any drug.
Social Media Image About Mask Efficacy Right In Sentiment, But Percentages Are ‘Bonkers’
Skip the numbers. Focus on the mask.
Among Those Disrupted By COVID-19: The Nation’s Newest Doctors
For new medical residents, this has been a year like no other. In part that’s because getting from here to there — from medical school to residency training sites — has been complicated by the coronavirus.