Pharmaceuticals

Latest California Healthline Stories

Patients Divided Over Alzheimer’s Drug: Is It a ‘Risk I’m Willing to Take’ or Just a ‘Magic Pill’?

Medicare has proposed limiting coverage of Aduhelm, the costly new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and several prominent groups representing patients and their families are pressing the program to make it more widely available. But among individuals facing the disease, the outlook is more nuanced.

Newsom’s Big Promises on Drug Prices Are Slow to Materialize

Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched several initiatives to cut rising drug prices, but the savings haven’t been as monumental as he promised. And his plan to have California make its own generic drugs hasn’t gotten off the ground.

HIV Preventive Care Is Supposed to Be Free in the US. So, Why Are Some Patients Still Paying?

The Department of Labor issued rules in July clarifying that health plans need to cover the costs of prescription drugs proven to prevent HIV infection, along with related lab tests and medical appointments, at no cost to patients. More than half a year later, the erroneous billing continues.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: It’s Health Costs, Stupid (2022 Edition)

As the pandemic wanes, for now, the ever-rising cost of health care is again taking center stage. Meanwhile, a year into the Biden administration, the FDA finally has a Senate-confirmed commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Hannah Wesolowski of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about how the pandemic has worsened the nation’s mental health crisis and what can be done about it.