Latest California Healthline Stories
Say What? Hearing Aids Available Over-the-Counter for as Low as $199, and Without a Prescription
The cheaper over-the-counter aids are for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss — a market of tens of millions of people, many of whom have until now been priced out because prescription devices can cost thousands of dollars.
Will Covid Spike Again This Fall? 6 Tips to Help You Stay Safe
Recent research suggests that the covid virus is mutating to better dodge people’s immune defenses. It could soon evade monoclonal antibodies used to treat covid. KHN examines what public health officials believe is on the horizon and how best to fight the disease.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally Fixing the ‘Family Glitch’
The Biden administration has decided to try to fix the so-called “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act without an act of Congress. The provision has prevented workers’ families from getting subsidized coverage if an employer offer is unaffordable. Meanwhile, Medicare’s open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, and private Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more than half of Medicare’s 65 million enrollees. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read.
New Generation of Weight Loss Medications Offer Promise — But at a Price
People now have at their disposal more medicines that are effective at reducing weight, but none can counter obesity alone. One big problem: Insurance coverage remains spotty, and the costly drugs may be needed long term.
BMI: The Mismeasure of Weight and the Mistreatment of Obesity
The human body mass index — a simple mathematical equation — is tied to a measure of obesity invented almost 200 years ago. On the downside, it can stand between patients and treatment for weight issues. It particularly mismeasures Black women and Asians.
Listen: Medical Bills Upended Her Life and Her Credit Score
Penny Wingard, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina, worries she won’t ever get out from under her medical debt despite new policies that are supposed to prevent medical debt from harming people’s credit scores.
Addiction Experts Fear the Fallout if California Legalizes Sports Betting
If California voters approve one or both sports-wagering initiatives on the November ballot, psychiatrists anticipate more cases of problem gambling and gambling addiction. They’re especially concerned about online betting, a very addictive way to play.
$80,000 and 5 ER Visits: Ectopic Pregnancy Takes a Toll Despite NY’s Liberal Abortion Law
If an embryo has implanted in a fallopian tube, ending the pregnancy is imperative to protect the patient’s life. Women’s health advocates have raised concerns that the needed treatment may be hampered by restrictive abortion laws in some states. Yet women seeking treatment in states with more liberal abortion laws may still find the process expensive and harrowing.
Advantage Plans May Shorten Nursing Home Stays to Less Time Than Medicare Covers
Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.
Turned Away From Urgent Care — And Toward a Big ER Bill
Russell Cook was expecting a quick and inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter, Frankie, after she had a car wreck. Instead, they were advised to go to an emergency room and got a much larger bill.