Latest California Healthline Stories
Your Credit Score Soon Will Get A Buffer From Medical-Debt Wrecks
Starting in September, the three main agencies will wait 180 days before including a medical debt on a credit report.
Podcast: What The Health? Why Is This Stuff So Complicated?
The questions are practical and political. Returning from their holiday break, Republican Senate leaders must balance the concerns of their moderate and most conservative colleagues in seeking to pass their health reform bill.
California Lawsuit Aims To Protect Spouses Of Disabled From Financial Ruin
Suit filed by advocates says California officials aren’t complying with federal Medicaid laws protecting spouses’ finances.
The Union That Roars: Nurses Aren’t Giving Up On California’s Single-Payer Push
The California Nurses Association, representing some 100,000 registered nurses, is regarded statewide and nationally as a progressive political powerhouse. “Politicians are afraid” of the activists they turn out, said one critic.
Do-It-Yourself Detox Can Be ‘Freddy Krueger’ Scary — And Usually Fails
Treatment for opioid addiction can be expensive and difficult to coordinate. That might make some people tempted to think they can overcome the addiction on their own. This rarely works.
Telemedicine Is Wide-Reaching But Doesn’t Always Replace Doctor’s Touch
Insurers increasingly cover tests and treatment overseen from afar. Still, regulators in California and elsewhere often won’t count remote providers when measuring the adequacy of physician networks.
Half The Time, Nursing Homes Scrutinized On Safety By Medicare Are Still Treacherous
Of the 528 nursing homes that graduated from special focus status before 2014 and are still operating, more than half — 52 percent — have harmed patients or operated in a way that put patients in serious jeopardy within the past three years, a KHN analysis finds.
Obamacare Inspires Unlikely Political Action In California’s Red Region
In a county where cows outnumber people and most voters supported Donald Trump, a coalition of health clinics is driven to defend the Obamacare.
As Seniors Get Sicker, They’re More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage plans offer good value and aim to keep patients healthy but sicker people are far more likely to quit because they can’t get the care they need.
Why Teens Are Smoking Less, In Their Own Words
New CDC data suggests teens are smoking fewer cigarettes than ever before, and even vaping is on the decline. But other studies – and teens themselves – suggest adolescents may be swapping tobacco for marijuana.