Latest California Healthline Stories
Strong Effort By Lawmakers To Stabilize Covered California Draws More Insurers
States increasingly expect to see insurers enter or re-enter ACA marketplaces next year. That’s a critical sign that these exchanges are growing less risky for insurers despite ongoing political and legal battles over the ACA.
Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.
To Save Money, American Patients And Surgeons Meet In Cancun
The patient is from Mississippi. The surgeon is from Wisconsin. They meet in a Mexican resort for knee replacement surgery. Because the care costs so much less than in the U.S, the patient’s health plan pays her $5,000.
How #MeToo Is Changing Sex Ed Policies — Even In Red States
Liberalized sex education policies are being considered in more states, even traditionally conservative ones, as more female lawmakers take office and legislators react to the #MeToo movement. Inspired by California, Georgia attempted a bill, but it did not pass.
Coordinating Care Of Mind And Body Might Help Medicaid Save Money And Lives
Tennessee’s innovative Medicaid program is offering bonuses to mental health providers who help make sure their Medicaid patients get preventive help and treatment for physical ailments, too.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Gun Violence And The Politics Of Public Health
The recent tragic mass shootings have refocused efforts to treat gun violence as a public health issue rather than strictly a law enforcement problem. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the health implications of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, as well as reaction from Canada to a proposal to allow broader imports of its prescription drugs. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
Federal Experts’ Advice On HPV Vaccine Could Leave Adults Confused
A federal advisory panel says people between ages 27 and 45 may benefit from the vaccine to fight the human papillomavirus. But some public health advocates worry that the advice doesn’t provide doctors and patients clear guidance about who in this large age group are good candidates for the vaccine.
Obesity Plagues Hispanics And Blacks In Colorado, Nation’s ‘Healthiest’ State
Obesity prevention does not get much attention in Colorado, often billed as the healthiest state. Yet more than 1 in 4 black or Hispanic residents are obese, as state and federal public health spending fuels other needs.
The New West: Smoke In The Sky, A Purifier At Home
Amid forecasts for increasingly unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, residents in Western states are snatching up home air purifiers. With good reason.
Trump Wants To Take Guns Away From People In Crisis. Will That Work?
So-called red flag laws that let police take guns away from people with mental illness have support from both advocates and opponents of gun control. But it won’t alleviate gun violence.