Latest California Healthline Stories
In Campaign To Stop Teen Vaping, States Turn To Tried-And-True Remedy: Taxes
Historically, taxation has been an effective tool in reducing the number of people who smoke. So 20 states and the District of Columbia have begun implementing taxes on vaping products as they seek to stop young people from getting addicted.
Books, Binders, Bleed-Control Kits: How School Shootings Are Changing Classroom Basics
School districts around the country now require bleeding-control kits and training at their public schools in this era of mass shootings. Staffers used the kits in the recent high school shooting in Santa Clarita, Calif., even though there is no statewide mandate for them in California.
Obamacare Back At The High Court — With Billions For Insurers On The Line
The case revolves around a health law provision designed to help insurers recover some losses because they had an unusually high number of sick and expensive customers. Insurers complain that when Republican lawmakers discontinued funding the program, it was like “Lucy Van Pelt pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.”
It’s Not Just You: Picking Health Insurance Is Hard. Here’s How To Be Smart About It.
It’s open enrollment season for health insurance. And choosing the best plan is tricky whether you have to buy insurance on your own or just figure out which plan to sign up for at work. Here’s what you need to know.
Wildfire, Floods, Extreme Heat: California Prepares For Climate Change
Kate Gordon, director of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Planning and Research, is tasked with identifying and mitigating the risks of climate change in California. She spoke to California Healthline about how that work intersects with health, and how residents can get involved.
Analysis: Choosing A Plan From The Impossible Health Care Maze
In 21st-century US health care, everything is revenue, and so everything is billed.
Black Mothers Get Less Treatment For Postpartum Depression Than Other Moms
Cultural barriers may keep some African American women from seeking treatment for postpartum depression as early as they need it, and the standard screening tools aren’t always relevant for some black women.
‘Warm’ Hotlines Deliver Help Before Mental Health Crisis Heats Up
“Warmlines” are phone lines or electronic chat options for people who are not having a full-blown mental health crisis but who could use support to stave off one. They are a growing trend in mental health outreach to supplement existing hotlines, with one successful warmline in the Bay Area recently expanding to cover all of California.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: We Spend HOW MUCH On Health Care?
The annual accounting of national health spending is out. And the 2018 health bill for the U.S. was $3.6 trillion, consuming nearly a fifth of the nation’s economy. Meanwhile, Congress is nearing the end of the year without having finished either its annual spending bills or several other high-priority health items. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Markian Hawryluk about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month.”
‘An Arm And A Leg’: How Much For Stitches In The ER? Hard To Gauge Upfront
Consumers are admonished to be “smart shoppers,” but that’s difficult if health care prices are clear as mud. When Sarah Macsalka’s son needed stitches, she did her best to avoid the ER and still ended up with a $3,000 bill.