Latest California Healthline Stories
Parenting Your Aging Parents When They Don’t Want Help
Relationships between adult children and their parents can fray with age. Experts offer help on how loved ones can preserve the love and negotiate those tension-filled final years.
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Portion Of Obamacare
The court, based in New Orleans, agreed with a federal judge in Texas that the individual mandate section of the Affordable Care Act could not stand after Congress eliminated the tax penalty for not having coverage. But the case now heads back to the lower court to see how much of the law can remain.
Border Fight: Trump’s Plan To Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada Faces Hurdles
The administration’s proposed rule to allow states to bring in prescription medications isn’t expected to provide immediate relief.
Don’t Toss That E-Cig: Vaping Waste Is A Whole New Headache For Schools And Cities
E-cigarettes may look sleek, but they create toxic trash, especially at high schools where vaping is widespread. Disposable nicotine pods can be poisonous, and vape pens contain batteries and metals. Safely disposing of them can mean a trip to the local recycling center.
Despite Quick Fixes, Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Care Still Lags
Interviews with dozens of Kaiser Permanente therapists, patients and industry experts reveal superficial changes that look good on paper but do not translate into more effective and accessible care.
Surprising Swings In Momentum For Legislation On Surprise Medical Bills
A legislative compromise on how to curb unexpected out-of-network medical bills has made recent progress. But many insiders expect work to continue into 2020.
Analysis: In Medical Billing, Fraudulent Charges Weirdly Pass As Legal
After my husband had a bike accident, we were subjected to medical bills that no one would accept if they had been delivered by a contractor, or a lawyer or an auto mechanic. Such charges are sanctioned by insurers, which generally pay because they have no way to know whether you received a particular item or service — and it’s not worth their time to investigate the millions of medical interactions they write checks for each day.
What Would Happen If The ACA Went Away?
The Affordable Care Act has been on the books for nearly a decade. Parts of it have become ingrained in our health system ― and in our everyday life. But this could change, depending on a long-awaited 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding the law’s constitutionality.
Promising Greater Safety, A Tiny Widget Creates Chaos For Tube Feeders
A standard connector for feeding tubes was supposed to improve patient safety by preventing accidental misconnections to equipment used for IVs or other purposes. But critics say the design instead could keep patients from real food and inadvertently creates a host of new risks, including for vulnerable premature infants.
Some Rejoice Over New California Health Insurance Subsidies. Others Get Shut Out.
There’s something new in this year’s Covered California open-enrollment period: Consumers are learning whether they will qualify for new state-funded financial aid. The results are mixed, with some scoring hundreds of dollars per month and others nothing.