Insight

Latest California Healthline Stories

Immigrants Hit Hard by Governor’s Planned Medi-Cal Cuts, Changes

In five months, Californians have moved from talking about major reforms that would bring affordable health care to almost everyone in the state to talking about deep cuts in the Medi-Cal program that could add 800,000 to the 6.7 million already without health insurance. Immigrants will be among the most affected, health advocates predict.

Next President Could Reshape Stem Cell Research Policy

The next resident in the White House may change national policy regarding stem cell research but it probably won’t have much of an impact on California’s stem cell agency, experts predict. No matter who wins the election and how policies change, ethical challenges in medicine are here to stay.

Public Health Officials Urge Vaccinations as Some Childhood Diseases Rebound

Vaccine and epidemiology experts spoke with California Healthline about efforts to raise vaccinations rates. Some public health experts worry that skipped vaccines could lead to a resurgence of measles or other diseases.

California Lawmakers Take a Stab at Legislating Healthy Habits

An Assembly bill that would require companies bidding on California state contracts to provide wellness benefits for employees fits in with a national trend of state legislatures encouraging healthy habits.

End-of-Life Care a Pressing Issue as Baby Boomers Age

As society’s approach to end-of-life issues changes, California health care officials and lawmakers are responding with new ways to help society confront mortality. California is one of the first states pursuing a new effort to offer curative and hospice care simultaneously to terminally ill children.

Prison Receiver Seeks $7 Billion To Update, Expand Health Care for California Inmates

Clark Kelso, federal receiver overseeing health care for California’s prison system; Sens. Dave Cox and Mike Machado; and Nancy Paulus of the Legislative Analyst’s Office discussed Kelso’s plan to revamp the prison health care system.

Aging Population Could Push Major Changes to Health Care

An Institute of Medicine report released last week called for major changes in the health care system to meet the needs of an aging population. One of the report’s authors said changes could be of the same scale as those that came out of the emergence of HIV/AIDS.