Latest California Healthline Stories
Expectant Mom Needed $15,000 Overnight to Save Her Twins
Doctors rushed a pregnant woman to a surgeon who charged thousands upfront just to see her. The case reveals a gap in medical billing protections for those with rare, specialized conditions.
As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier
The pandemic gave federal officials expanded power to access crucial data about the spread of covid-19, but that authority will change when the public health emergency sunsets in May. That, along with the end of popular covid trackers, will make it harder for policymakers and the public to keep an eye on covid and other threats.
How a 2019 Florida Law Catalyzed a Hospital-Building Boom
In Wesley Chapel, Fla., near Tampa, residents will soon have three general hospitals within a five-minute drive. The new construction is part of a hospital-building boom across Florida unleashed almost four years ago, when the state dropped a requirement that companies obtain government approval to open new hospitals.
Disability Rights Groups Sue to Overturn California’s Physician-Assisted Death Law
Disability rights advocates and two individuals with disabilities sued Tuesday to overturn the state’s physician-assisted death law, arguing it is unconstitutional, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, and makes it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with a doctor’s help.
Depressed? Anxious? Air Pollution May Be a Factor
A growing body of research is finding links between air quality and mental health, as therapists report seeing patients with symptoms linked to pollution.
Did a Military Lab Spill Anthrax Into Public Waterways? New Book Reveals Details of a US Leak
“Pandora’s Gamble” describes how 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of wastewater potentially containing anthrax, Ebola, and other deadly pathogens spilled from an Army facility in Frederick, Maryland, in 2018.
Listen: Mifepristone Remains Available for Now. What Happens Next?
The Supreme Court on April 21 ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone should remain widely available while the lower courts consider the issue, blocking earlier rulings that banned or restricted access to the drug. KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner joined NPR’s “Weekend All Things Considered” to discuss the complicated case.
US Officials Want to End the HIV Epidemic by 2030. Many Stakeholders Think They Won’t.
The federal government’s ambitious plan to end the HIV epidemic, launched in 2019, has generated new ways to reach at-risk populations in targeted communities across the South. But health officials, advocates, and people living with HIV worry significant headwinds will keep the program from reaching its goals.
Pain, Hope, and Science Collide as Athletes Turn to Magic Mushrooms
A group of former professional athletes traveled to Jamaica to try psychedelics as a way to help cope with the aftereffects of concussions and a career of body-pounding injuries. Will this still largely untested treatment work?
UC Physician Training Program Adds Diversity, but Where Do Graduates End Up?
Researchers found that, while a University of California medical training program has diversified the system’s pool of medical students, there’s not enough long-term data to know whether graduates return to practice where they’re needed most.