Public Health

Latest California Healthline Stories

Another Coronavirus Casualty: California’s Budget

Before the coronavirus hit, California was looking at a budget surplus of more than $5 billion and lawmakers were debating how to increase the size of government health programs. Now, the state faces a deficit, program cuts, high unemployment — and no significant investment in public health funding at a time when the state needs it the most.

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.

Under COVID Cloud, Prisons In Rural America Threaten To Choke Rural Hospitals

A rural Montana county of 5,000 people lays claim to the state’s highest COVID-19 infection rate. The community risks additional spread, though, because of a private prison situated there. If the virus infiltrates the prison and just a fraction of inmates get sick, the area’s limited health resources may not endure.

Hospital Workers Complain of Minimal Disclosure After COVID Exposures

From cafeteria staff to doctors and nurses, hospital workers around the country report frustrating failures by management to notify them when they have been exposed to co-workers or patients known to be infected with COVID-19.