Latest California Healthline Stories
In Health Care Arena, The Prize For Calif. Insurance Commissioner Is A Bullhorn
The California Department of Insurance, headed by the commissioner, regulates only a small fraction of the market. But the job comes with a bully pulpit that amplifies its impact. Three of the four candidates would use it to push for a statewide single-payer system.
Benefit Change Could Raise Costs For Patients Getting Drug Copay Assistance
More health plans are refusing to count the copayment assistance offered by drug makers as part of the patients’ deductibles or out-of-pocket limits.
Single-Payer Issue Drives Dollars Into Gubernatorial Campaign
Money is streaming into the campaign from health care interests with a stake in whether California adopts a government-run, universal-coverage system.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Campaign Promises Kept, Plus ‘Nerd Reports’
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Kliff of Vox and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss a proposed administration regulation that seeks to separate Planned Parenthood from federal family planning funds, the final congressional passage of legislation aimed at helping those with terminal illnesses obtain experimental medications, and new government reports on the uninsured and federal health spending. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the May “Bill of the Month.”
Indocumentada y con cáncer: entre la muerte y la deportación
¿Qué sucede cuando un inmigrante indocumentado tiene un diagnóstico potencialmente mortal? Depende mucho de en dónde viva.
When Is Insurance Not Really Insurance? When You Need Pricey Dental Care.
Even under a decent plan, you’ll have to dig deep in your pocket for crowns, bridges and implants. The mouth isn’t covered by insurance the same way as the rest of the body, and this division has deep roots in history and tradition.
Choosing Between Death And Deportation
What happens when an undocumented immigrant has a life-threatening diagnosis? Much depends on where the person lives. And even in states with generous care for a dire illness, a patient can face difficult life-and-death choices.
Insurer Slashes Breast Pump Payments, Stoking Fears Fewer Moms Will Breastfeed
Anthem, one of the country’s largest insurers, has cut the reimbursement rate it pays for breast pumps by nearly half, fueling concerns that new moms — especially ones with lower incomes — will not be able to afford the pumps they need.
Lack Of Insurance Exposes Blind Spots In Vision Care
As many as 16 million people in the United States have undiagnosed or uncorrected vision problems that could be fixed with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery.
Sticker Shock Jolts Oklahoma Patient: $15,076 For Four Tiny Screws
A woman with foot pain was floored by the high cost of titanium screws used in her surgery. “Unless the metal [was] mined on an asteroid, I do not know why it should cost that amount,” she says.