Latest California Healthline Stories
In Days Of Data Galore, Patients Have Trouble Getting Own Medical Records
Federal law guarantees that people have the right to see and obtain a copy of their medical records. But, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and insurance companies often erect obstacles.
States Explore Paths To Pay Their Share For Medicaid Expansion — Using Political GPS
The state-federal health insurance program is more popular than ever. Now, states that want to expand eligibility are devising new strategies to pay for it — creating, in many red states, a significant political challenge.
Listen: Gavin Newsom Vs. John Cox On Health Care
California’s two gubernatorial candidates couldn’t be further apart when it comes to their visions for health care. California politics correspondent Samantha Young explains how the two differ — and what it could mean for Californians’ access to health care and coverage.
Dialysis Giant DaVita Defends Itself In Court And At The Polls
Although dialysis provider DaVita Inc. has taken major financial hits this year, including a $383.5 million jury award in response to wrongful death lawsuits, it still rakes in profits. The company faces its biggest threat next month, when California voters weigh in on a ballot initiative that could force it to leave the state.
Marketplace Subsidies May Be Option In 2020 For Plans That Skirt Obamacare
The new guidance allows states to ask for waivers from provisions in the Affordable Care Act governing not only subsidies, but also the benefits insurers must offer in all their plans.
Politicians Hop Aboard ‘Medicare-For-All’ Train, Destination Unknown
Candidates are charging toward midterm elections on a platform of single-payer and universal coverage rhetoric. Yet “Medicare-for-all” and single-payer mean different things to different people.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Spending Against Dialysis Ballot Measure In California Breaks Record
Dialysis companies have contributed more than $110 million to defeat an initiative on California’s Nov. 6 ballot that would limit their profits — breaking the $109 million record set by the pharmaceutical industry in 2016.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Republicans’ Preexisting Political Problem
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss how protections for people with preexisting conditions have become a top issue in the elections, Trump administration efforts to make prescription drug prices more public and the start of Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period. Plus, Rovner interviews California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
As Billions In Tax Dollars Flow To Private Medicaid Plans, Who’s Minding The Store?
Insurance companies profit from government contracts but are subject to little oversight of how they spend the money or care for patients. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has only exacerbated the problem.