Latest California Healthline Stories
More Patients Are Losing Their Doctors — And Trust in the Primary Care System
A shortage of primary care providers is driving more people to seek routine care in emergency settings. In Rhode Island, safety-net clinics are under pressure as clinicians retire or burn out, and patients say it’s harder to find care as they lose connections to familiar doctors.
Attacks on Emergency Room Workers Prompt Debate Over Tougher Penalties
In California, assaulting paramedics or other emergency medical workers in the field carries stiffer fines and jail time than assaulting emergency room staffers. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would standardize the penalties.
Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists
False claims that covid vaccines cause deaths and other diseases are still prevalent despite multiple studies showing the vaccines are safe and saved lives.
A Physician Travels to South Asia Seeking Enduring Lessons From the Eradication of Smallpox
Physician and podcast host Céline Gounder traveled to India and Bangladesh and brought back never-before-heard stories, many from public health workers whose voices have been missing from the record documenting the eradication of smallpox.
Históricamente, las enfermedades vinculadas al abuso del alcohol han afectado más a los hombres. Pero datos actuales de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) muestran que las tasas de muerte por esta causa están aumentando más rápido entre las mujeres que entre los hombres.
More Women Are Drinking Themselves Sick. The Biden Administration Is Concerned.
Historically, alcohol use disorder has disproportionately affected men. But targeted advertising and changes in societal norms over the past 50 years have led to an upsurge in alcohol-related diseases and deaths among women. “It’s a very taboo topic,” one expert said.
The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients
It’s estimated that an older patient can spend three weeks of the year getting care — and that doesn’t count the time it takes to arrange appointments or deal with insurance companies.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Biden Said Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Cut the Deficit by $160B. That’s Years Away.
Savings estimated by the Congressional Budget Office from allowing the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices are based on a 10-year cumulative projection.
Telehealth Sites Promise Cure for ‘Male Menopause’ Despite FDA Ban on Off-Label Ads
Most healthy men produce sufficient testosterone as they age. Yet online ads and telehealth sites are promoting testosterone drugs with flawed promises of boosting libido and busting stomach fat.