Latest California Healthline Stories
Changing Disparities in Breast-Feeding
Jan Emerson-Shea of the California Hospital Association, Robbie Gonzalez-Dow of the California Breastfeeding Coalition, lactation consultant Monique Sims-Harper and neonatologist Nancy Wight spoke with California Healthline about the disparities associated with breastfeeding, the cultural factors that contribute to those disparities and the possible influence hospitals could have on reducing them.
Fight Continues To Raise Smoking Age
Bill Dombrowski of the California Retailers Association, State Sen. Ed Hernandez, Debra Kelley of the American Lung Association and Assembly member Jim Wood spoke with California Healthline about the return of proposed legislation to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 in California.
California and its Counties Leading Way on Health Benefits for Undocumented
Contra Costa County Supervisor Candice Anderson, Rosa Maria Arriaga, a 72-year-old patient, Álvaro Fuentes of Contra Costa County’s Community Clinic Consortium, Gerald Kominski of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Gabrielle Lessard of the National Immigration Law Center, Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Teshina Wilson, a physician at a Richmond clinic, and Anthony Wright of Health Access California spoke with California Healthline about the state’s efforts to provide health care to undocumented immigrants.
State Takes Steps To Curb Overmedication of Foster Children — Is It Enough?
Former foster child Shanequa Arrington, state Sen. Jim Beall, public health nurse Susan Bullard, Bill Grimm and Anna Johnson of the National Center for Youth Law, Cathy Senderling-McDonald of the California Welfare Directors Association and Mike Wofford of the state Department of Health Care Services spoke with California Healthline about the possible over-prescribing of psychotropic and antipsychotic medication for foster children in California.
One Year After Benefit Began, Are Kids in Medi-Cal Getting Autism Treatment?
Sarah Brooks at the California Department of Health Care Services, Kelly Hardy of Children Now, Kristin Jacobson of Autism Deserves Equal Coverage and Sarah Trautman-Eslinger of STE Consultants spoke with California Healthline about the implementation of autism treatment under Medi-Cal, one year after it became a benefit.
California’s Precision Medicine Initiative Targets Hard-To-Diagnose Diseases
Gov. Brown, UC-San Francisco researcher Esteban Burchard, UCSF researcher Atul Butte, UCSF infectious disease specialist Charles Chiu and patient family member Julie Osborn of Wisconsin spoke with California Healthline about California’s initiative to boost precision medicine research to help prevent and treat the root cause of illnesses such as encephalitis and sepsis, which sometimes can be difficult to diagnose.
Can a Tech Startup Transform Health Care in One Rural County in California?
Esther Dyson of the Way to Wellville project, Marshall Kubota of Partnership HealthPlan of California, Chad Lindsay of Porterville, David Santos of St. Helena Hospital and Karen Tait from Lake County’s public health department spoke with California Healthline about the proposed Health Homes plan to improve quality and reduce costs of super-utilizers in the Medi-Cal program.
Program Targets Super-Users of Health Care To Lower Costs, Increase Quality
Elizabeth Davis of San Francisco General Hospital’s San Francisco Health Network Primary Care, Hannah Katch from the California Department of Health Care Services, Marty Lynch of LifeLong Medical Care in Berkeley and Bertha Swan, daughter of San Francisco General Hospital patient Aroytemise Swan, spoke with California Healthline about the proposed Health Homes plan to improve quality and reduce costs of super-utilizers in the Medi-Cal program.
Legislation To Regulate E-Cigarettes Is Facing Stiff Resistance in California
Stefan Didak of the Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association, Tim Gibbs of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, UC-San Francisco professor Stanton Glantz, state Sen. Mark Leno and Zach Shpizner, a vape shop worker in San Mateo, spoke with California Healthline about proposed legislation to regulate electronic cigarettes as a tobacco product and ban vaping in public places.
Demand Up in Calif. for Dental Care Services, Yet Hurdles To Access Remain
More than 2,000 people sought dental care at a no-cost event in Sacramento recently — a sign of the increasing demand for dental care services. Some patients waited hours for care, including those who have had trouble making appointments through Denti-Cal, the state’s dental care program for low-income patients.