Latest California Healthline Stories
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: The Full Story Of Insulin And Its Cost ― No Sugarcoating It
Skipping meals. Rationing medicine to make it last. The high cost of insulin has pushed some people with diabetes to make hard choices. Hear about insulin’s backstory and the hacks that might make it affordable.
Listen: Black Pharmacists Are Helping Close A Cultural Health Care Divide
Kaiser Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony is interviewed on Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” by Niala Boodhoo about how black pharmacists are helping fill a void for African American patients seeking culturally competent care.
U.S. Medical Students Less Likely To Choose Primary Care
Only 41.5% of internal medicine positions were filled this year by fourth-year students getting traditional medical degrees from U.S. medical schools – the lowest share on record. Similar trends were seen this year in family medicine and pediatrics. In California, some medical schools are striving to address a looming primary care shortage.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About ‘Medicare for All’
Need to know more about “Medicare for All?” It’s a top issue in the Democratic presidential primary campaign. This holiday week, we are rerunning our explainer on the subject. But first, KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner talks to KHN’s Shefali Luthra about how health played out in the first Democratic candidate debates last week.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Dems Debate Health Care
Democratic presidential candidates disagreed on how to fix health care in their first debate Wednesday, although they all called for boosting insurance coverage and lowering prices. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is keeping health care in the news, too, with a new plan to make medical prices more available to the public. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the latest in news about bipartisan progress on catch-all legislation to address “surprise” medical bills. Plus, Rovner interviews NPR’s Jon Hamilton about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Why Are Drug Prices So Random? Meet Mr. PBM
Beware at the pharmacy counter: Your insurance company could be in cahoots with a pharmacy benefit manager — and the negotiations that go on between them are trade secrets.
KHN’s ‘What The Health’: Politics Heading Into 2020: Live From Aspen!
How big an issue will health really be in the 2020 election? Will the Republicans find their political footing on the issue? In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times report from the Aspen Ideas: Health festival in Aspen, Colo. Joining them are Chris Jennings, who advised Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on health policy, and Lanhee Chen, who advised GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio.
Surgeons’ Opioid-Prescribing Habits Are Hard To Kick
A new data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins researchers shows that even as the CDC issued warnings, surgeons handed out many times the number of opioid pills needed for post-op pain.
Vaccine Drama On Display In California’s Capitol
Hundreds of protesters descended on the state Capitol on Thursday, warning against government tyranny and corporate greed. Their target: not taxes, not high-tech surveillance, but a bill that would determine which kids must get their routine shots.