Latest California Healthline Stories
California Takes On Health Giant Over High Costs
In a bold move, the state has sued Sutter Health, Northern California’s dominant hospital chain, whose prices have drawn complaints for years. The company says “healthy competition and choice exists across Northern California” for consumers seeking medical care.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ VA Secretary Out, Privatization In?
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss President Donald Trump’s firing of David Shulkin, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Shulkin’s claim that he was forced out by those who want to privatize VA health care.
A Little-Known Activist Thinks Big About Single-Payer
Democratic legislators seem to favor an incremental approach to providing universal health care in California. Tech worker Dale Fountain has a more ambitious goal, even if it’s a long shot for now.
Calif. Bill Targets Profiteering In Addiction Treatment, Dialysis Industries
The legislation is intended to curb schemes in which some treatment providers sign patients up for private plans, pay their premiums and then rake in profits from inflated claims.
Private Man At Center Of Very Public Single-Payer Debate
This camera-shy “average guy” is reluctantly spearheading a ballot initiative that would remove funding obstacles. Though the campaign faces long odds, it has a large Facebook following, and some policy makers call it a good idea.
Bill Of The Month: For Toenail Fungus, A $1,500 Prescription
How a prescription wiped out one woman’s health reimbursement account, raising questions about prescription drug price tags and about how health care professionals deal (or don’t) with medical costs.
Patients Overpay For Prescriptions 23% Of The Time, Analysis Shows
Researchers at the University of Southern California analyzed millions of prescriptions and concluded that close to a quarter paid copays that exceeded the cost of the drugs.
A Health Plan ‘Down Payment’ Is One Way States Try Retooling Individual Mandate
As states brace for insurance market instability, some — like Maryland — take aggressive action. California policy makers are discussing but have not proposed an individual mandate.
Nueva estrategia: hospitales internan a pacientes… en sus propias casas
Un enfoque común en Australia, Gran Bretaña y Canadá comienza a cobrar fuerza en el país: internar en sus propios hogares a los pacientes que no tienen condiciones de cuidado crítico.
From The ER To Inpatient Care — At Home
Some health systems are encouraging selected ill emergency department patients who are stable and don’t need intensive, round-the-clock care to opt for hospital-level care at home.