Latest California Healthline Stories
When Gun Violence Ends Young Lives, These Men Prepare the Graves
Just outside St. Louis, a cemetery for children sits on a hill. A wooden, weather-worn sign welcomes mourners to “Baby Land.” The gravediggers who made the special spot work quietly in the shadows.
A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?
A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.
Part II: The State of the Abortion Debate 50 Years After ‘Roe’
In Part II of this special two-part episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Varney of KHN join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how the abortion debate has evolved since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, and what might be the flashpoints for 2023. Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their most memorable reproductive health stories from the last year.
Part I: The State of the Abortion Debate 50 Years After ‘Roe’
In Part I of this special two-part episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Varney of KHN join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how the abortion debate has evolved since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, and what might be the flashpoints for 2023. Also in this episode, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, about changing reproductive policies in the states.
California’s Resolve Questioned After It Grants Medi-Cal Contract Concessions
After the Department of Health Care Services canceled Medi-Cal contract awards under pressure from major insurers, some consumer advocates question the administration’s willpower to improve care in the safety-net program.
Florida Gov. DeSantis Falsely Claims Bivalent Booster Boosts Chances of Covid Infection
Experts say the Florida governor’s conclusion could not be drawn from the study he cited, adding that the research focused on health care workers, who are likelier to be exposed to covid and more likely to be vaccinated. Those findings should not be applied to the general public.
Wave of Rural Nursing Home Closures Grows Amid Staffing Crunch
Many small-town care facilities that remain open are limiting admissions, citing a lack of staff, while a wave of others shutter. That means more patients are marooned in hospitals or placed far away from their families.
Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children
More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.
Abortion Debate Ramps Up in States as Congress Deadlocks
Abortion is a top issue for state lawmakers meeting for their first full sessions since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Latino Teens Are Deputized as Health Educators to Sway the Unvaccinated
Some community health groups are training Latino teens to conduct outreach and education, particularly in places where covid vaccine fears linger.