Insight

Latest California Healthline Stories

With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work

National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Los Angeles and Oakland are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.

Black Tech Founders Want to Change the Culture of Health Care, One Click at a Time

Just as Uber Eats and Grubhub revolutionized food delivery, Black tech entrepreneurs want to change the way patients connect with doctors. They are using technology to match people of color with culturally competent professionals and the transportation they need to get to them.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House

President Joe Biden’s social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week’s Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: The Insurance Warrior’s Battle Plan

Health care — and how much it costs — is scary. But knowledge is power. Take a master class in winning insurance appeals. In the case of Matthew Lientz, taking on his insurance also meant going up against his employer.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Boosting Confusion

Federal health officials appear poised to extend a recommendation for covid boosters to all adults, following moves by some governors and mayors to broaden the eligible booster pool as caseloads rise. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration finally has a nominee to head the agency: former FDA chief Robert Califf. And Medicare premiums for consumers will likely rise substantially in 2022, partly due to the approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the “An Arm and a Leg” podcast.