Latest California Healthline Stories
As U.S. Suicides Rates Rise, Hispanics Show Relative Immunity
Support from family and community appear to shield Latinos from rising suicide rates, researchers say.
Need Health Insurance? The Deadline Is Dec. 15
Enrollment is lagging compared with last year’s pace. But experts say sign-ups tend to accelerate as the deadline nears, and many people will be automatically re-enrolled, so the final numbers could approach last year’s totals.
Even When Not In Rome, Eat A Mediterranean Diet To Cut Heart Disease Risk
New research not only confirms the heart health benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet, but also tracks these benefits over the long term.
No Cash, No Heart. Transplant Centers Require Proof Of Payment.
The case of a Michigan woman who was told to fundraise $10,000 for a heart transplant sparked viral outrage, but experts say such “wallet biopsies” are common. A California mother has raised nearly $24,000 in a GoFundMe campaign to pay for costs related to her adult daughter’s second kidney transplant.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Is Health Spending The Next Big Political Issue?
Diabetics dying because they can’t afford insulin. Organ transplant patients undergoing “wallet biopsies” to get on waiting lists. Are out-of-pocket costs going to dominate the health discussion in the next election? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this as well as new Trump administration rules giving states the ability to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. Also, lame-duck lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan try to cement health changes before Democrats take over.
More Than Half Of California Nursing Homes Balk At Stricter Staffing Rules
Patient advocates say the state’s new staffing regulations are a good start toward better protecting the frail, but the nursing home industry contends they’re too burdensome.
With Hospitalization Losing Favor, Judges Order Outpatient Mental Health Treatment
Nearly every state in the country allows courts to force people with severe mental illnesses into treatment against their will. But critics argue these controversial intervention programs fail to address underlying problems in behavioral health services. In California, only one-third of counties have such programs, but they account for nearly two-thirds of the state’s population.
Without Obamacare Penalty, Think It’ll Be Nice To Drop Your Plan? Better Think Twice
If you’re among the millions of people expected to forgo health insurance next year when the Affordable Care Act tax penalty goes away, the financial consequences could be dire if you need unexpected medical care.
Medicare Cuts Payments To Nursing Homes Whose Patients Keep Ending Up In Hospital
The incentive program to discourage nursing homes from discharging patients too quickly will also give bonuses to facilities with fewer rehospitalizations.
Feds Order More Weekend Inspections Of Nursing Homes To Catch Understaffing
Medicare instructs inspectors to look for staffing inadequacies in homes that report suspiciously low numbers of registered nurses and weekend workers.