States

Latest California Healthline Stories

This Physician-Scientist Is Taking on Trump on Behalf of Disadvantaged Communities

California researcher Neeta Thakur is leading a challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration — one that pits public health science against political ideology. Whether she prevails could influence both the future of academic research and the health of those she’s spent her life trying to help.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.

Tribal Groups Assert Sovereignty as Feds Crack Down on Gender-Affirming Care

Native American groups declare that tribal sovereignty trumps state and federal efforts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for two-spirit and LGBTQ+ tribal citizens. Tribes are analyzing the risk of opposing Trump’s policies, advocates say.

As California’s Behavioral Health Workforce Buckles, Help Is Years Away

California has put a greater focus on behavioral health workers, but a huge spike in demand, an aging workforce, and employee burnout continue to hamper mental health and substance use treatment. The state is tapping Medicaid funds to train, recruit, and retain workers, but it will be a long time before the impacts are evident.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.

Lawfully Present Immigrants Help Stabilize ACA Plans. Why Does the GOP Want Them Out?

The GOP’s tax and spending law and a new rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make it harder to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans, will raise consumers’ out-of-pocket costs, and could prompt younger, healthier people, including lawfully present immigrants who will lose financial aid, to drop coverage.