Latest California Healthline Stories
Covid Forces Cohousing Communities to Examine Shared Values and Relationships
How do dozens of people living communally decide what to do during a public health crisis when members have varying tolerance for risk and different opinions about safe practices?
The Vulnerable Homebound Are Left Behind on Vaccination
Even as the nation has moved on to vaccinating everyone 16 and older, the vast majority of people homebound due to frailty or age — and among the most vulnerable to covid’s devastation — have not yet been vaccinated. California offers a sharp lens on the challenges.
What a Difference a Year Makes in Colorado’s Case for a Public Option Plan
Before the pandemic, Colorado was building momentum to pass what’s known as a “public option” health plan that would lower insurance premiums and force hospitals to accept lower payments. But now with hospitals and health care providers enjoying support as front-line heroes in the pandemic, state legislators have stripped the option from their bill.
Some County Jail Inmates See Vaccination as Ticket to a Better Life — In the State Pen
In the Los Angeles County Jail system, many inmates hope being vaccinated will get them transferred more quickly to state prison. Some just want to protect themselves against covid, while others are distrustful and refuse vaccination.
Ohio’s Amish Suffered a Lot From Covid, but Vaccines Are Still a Hard Sell
Despite high mortality and infection rates, the counties of northeastern Ohio, where many Amish people live, have the lowest vaccination rates in the state.
Evaluating President Joe Biden’s First 100 Days in Office
Presidential historians say that Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office — a somewhat arbitrary but frequently cited milestone — have included an above-average number of major accomplishments.
‘Red Flag’ Gun Laws Get Another Look After Indiana, Colorado Shootings
It’s unclear whether “red flag” laws — which allow the seizure of guns from a person deemed dangerous — help prevent mass shootings or should have been applied to the suspects in recent shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Indianapolis.
‘We’re Coming for You’: For Public Health Officials, a Year of Threats and Menace
Local health officials have become the face of government authority as they work to stem the pandemic. That has made them targets for chilling threats from some of the same militia groups that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Santa Cruz leaders are among those whose daily routines now incorporate security patrols, surveillance cameras and, in some cases, firearms.
Michigan’s Outbreak Worries Scientists. Will Conservative Outposts Keep Pandemic Rolling?
The covid outbreak in Michigan stands out on the U.S. contagion map, but odds are it will be repeated elsewhere. How vaccine hesitancy, relaxed restrictions and a coronavirus variant combined to create the worst outbreak in the country.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Picking Up the Pace of Undoing Trump Policies
The Biden administration has started to speed efforts to reverse health policies forged under Donald Trump. Most recently, the administration overturned a ban on fetal tissue research and canceled a last-minute extension of a Medicaid waiver for Texas. That latter move may delay the Senate confirmation of President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) seeks to fight back. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.