Latest California Healthline Stories
Tourists, Beware: Foreign Visitors’ Travel Health Insurance Might Exclude Pandemics
Many travel insurance plans offer health care coverage, but they could limit how much the insurer will pay or exclude coverage for health crises like the coronavirus pandemic. That may leave foreign travelers — unfamiliar with the way the American health system works ― on the hook for major expenses.
Alerta a turistas: los planes de salud para viajeros podrían no cubrir pandemias
Muchos planes ofrecen cobertura de atención médica en caso que la persona necesite atención durante un viaje. Pero éstos varían enormemente según la compañía, y pueden no incluir a COVID-19.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: What’s In The Next Round Of COVID-19 Relief?
House Democrats unveiled legislation that would effectively double what the federal government has spent on relief for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Republicans say they want to wait before even talking about another bill. Meanwhile, a key Republican senator called the GOP court case challenging the Affordable Care Act “flimsy.” Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
Readers And Tweeters: Doctors Weigh In On Telemedicine Costs
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS Decides An ACA Case. No, Not THAT Case.
The Supreme Court this week, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that insurers are due the roughly $12 billion that Congress several years ago tried to cut off in payments under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridors” provision. And while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many places around the country, states are starting to reopen their economies at the urging of President Donald Trump and over objections of public health officials. Caitlin Owens of Axios and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about COVID testing that should have been free but was not.
Free Clinics Try To Fill Gaps As COVID Sweeps Away Job-Based Insurance
The volunteer medical providers at the Tree of Life Free Clinic in Tupelo, Mississippi, give crucial health care to the uninsured in the best of times, drawing crowds who line up for hours. Amid the current COVID pandemic, clinic staffers were advised to close. Instead, they chose to adapt — even without critical N95 masks to protect themselves — as the economic crisis intensifies the need for free care.
Health Insurers Prosper As COVID-19 Deflates Demand For Elective Treatments
With most nonemergency procedures shelved for now, many health insurers are expected to see profits in the near term, but the longer view of how the coronavirus will affect them is far more complicated and could well impact what people pay for coverage next year.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: What A Fleet Of Firetrucks Can Teach About Public Health
This week on “An Arm and a Leg,” a front-line physician wonders if the health care industry’s drive for “efficiency” has robbed the system of surge capacity, leaving the nation underprepared to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It’s ‘More Needed Than Ever’
Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to pare down their legislative wish lists and focus on the state’s coronavirus response. But state Sen. Jim Beall plans to forge ahead with his mental health care proposals, including a measure to create a state mental health parity requirement.
A Switch To Medicaid Managed Care Worries Some Illinois Foster Families
Illinois is moving thousands of children into its Medicaid managed-care program. Proponents say the approach can cut costs while increasing access to care. But after a phase-one rollout of the new health plans caused thousands to temporarily lose coverage, some question whether it’s the right move.