Latest California Healthline Stories
Shopping for Space, Health Systems Make Over Malls
Dying malls have turned out to be good places to care for the living. During the pandemic, mall-to-medicine transitions accelerated, with at least 10 health systems moving in where retail has moved out.
Tech Titans Want the Richest Californians to Pay for Pandemic Preparedness
A measure likely to be on California’s November ballot would tax the state’s wealthiest residents to rebuild crumbling public health infrastructure and try to head off another pandemic. But are inflation-weary Californians willing to vote for new taxes?
Journalists Cover the Gamut, From Rising Insulin Costs to Delays in Autism Care for Kids
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Despite Losing Federal Money, State Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents for Covid — For Now
Federal funding that paid for covid testing, treatment, and vaccines for uninsured people has run out. While some states struggle to make up the difference, California is relying on other state and local programs to continue free testing.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Conversation With Peter Lee on What’s Next for the ACA
Amid covid-19, the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, and a war in Europe, the Affordable Care Act has been flying under the radar in 2022. But this will be a pivotal year for the federal health law. Unless Congress acts, millions of Americans could see their costs for coverage rise dramatically as expanded subsidies expire. At the same time, the end of the public health emergency could boost the uninsured rate as states disenroll people from Medicaid. Peter Lee, who recently stepped down as the first executive director of the largest state-run ACA insurance marketplace, Covered California, has thought long and hard about how the ACA came to be, how it’s been implemented, and what should happen to it now. He joins host and KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the ACA.
Anti-Vaccine Ideology Gains Ground as Lawmakers Seek to Erode Rules for Kids’ Shots
Legislators in Kansas are pushing bills to expand exemptions for school vaccines, allowing religious exemptions for all vaccine requirements in the state’s schools without families having to provide any proof of their beliefs. Similar bills are being introduced around the nation as the anti-vaccine movement gains traction among politicians.
Abortion Clinic on Texas-Mexico Border Faces Unique Legal and Cultural Challenges
Just as Texas has tightened its laws surrounding abortion, Mexico has gone the opposite direction, compelling people to seek potentially less-safe procedures south of the border.
As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag
More people have visited emergency departments for eating disorders during the pandemic. Those living in rural areas have limited pathways to treatment.
Washington State Retools First-in-the-Nation Long-Term Care Benefit
The WA Cares Fund program, which would provide workers in the state a lifetime benefit of $36,500, was set to begin collecting money through a payroll tax in January, but it was delayed while lawmakers made adjustments to address equity problems. Now the payroll deductions will begin in July 2023, and benefits will become available in 2026.
Battle Lines Are Drawn Over California Deal With Kaiser Permanente
A controversial proposal to grant HMO giant Kaiser Permanente a no-bid statewide Medi-Cal contract is headed for its first legislative hearing amid vocal opposition from a coalition of counties, competing health plans, community clinics, and a national health care labor union.