Latest California Healthline Stories
Texas, Battling Teen Pregnancy, Recasts Sex Education Standards
As Texas adjusts to a near-total abortion ban, Texas schools are redoubling efforts to end teen pregnancies by enacting new standards for sexual health education. Beyond focusing on abstinence, they are teaching middle schoolers about contraceptives and preventing sexually transmitted infections. But parents must opt in for their children to get the lessons.
Clearing Pollution Helps Clear the Fog of Aging — And May Cut the Risk of Dementia
Two studies published this year provide evidence that older adults’ cognitive health may benefit if air quality is improved.
Centene to Pay $166 Million to Texas in Medicaid Drug Pricing Settlement
Texas is at least the 12th state to settle with St. Louis-based Centene Corp. over allegations that it overcharged Medicaid prescription drug programs.
Private Equity Sees the Billions in Eye Care as Firms Target High-Profit Procedures
As private equity groups are swarming into aging America’s eye care, the consolidation is costing the U.S. health care system and patients more money.
Doctors Rush to Use Supreme Court Ruling to Escape Opioid Charges
After a unanimous ruling from the high court, doctors who are accused of writing irresponsible prescriptions can go to trial with a new defense: It wasn’t on purpose.
Many Refugees Dealing With Trauma Face Obstacles to Mental Health Care
Refugees are arriving in the U.S. in greater numbers after a 40-year low, prompting some health professionals to rethink ways to provide culturally competent care amid a shortage of mental health services.
With Polio’s Return, Here’s What Back-to-Schoolers Need to Know
Because polio has been vanishingly rare in the United States for nearly a half-century, doctors may not consider it when diagnosing patients with typical symptoms. Here are the signs and the science behind an infectious disease that is largely a mystery to modern society.
A Disability Program Promised to Lift People From Poverty. Instead, It Left Many Homeless.
A federal disability program meant to provide basic income for people unable to work has left many of its recipients homeless. Advocates for the poor say the crisis is growing worse as rents rise and Congress decides whether to make changes to the program that would affect millions of people.
New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients
As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Graham’s Bill Recenters Abortion Debate
Republicans would like to shift the political focus away from abortion to economic issues for the midterm elections, but a bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy has put the issue squarely back on their agenda. The proposal was not welcomed by many of his colleagues, especially Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Also this week, the muddle about where the fight against covid stands and near-record-low numbers of uninsured in the U.S. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHN’s partnerships editor, Mary Agnes Carey, to discuss these issues and more.