Sarah Varney, KQED

Los Angeles Is Betting On One Crusading Doc To Turn Public Health System Around

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles has some 2 million uninsured residents. It has long had one of the most disorganized public health systems, too. Now, Dr. Mitch Katz is looking to reshape the system and match patients with their own doctors.

The Public Option Did Not Die

KFF Health News Original

Unique in the nation for having public health insurance plans that are run by counties, California has public plans that stretch from San Francisco to the Mexican border and cover 2.5 million people.

Case-by-Case, California Examines Adult Day Care

KFF Health News Original

Martha Norris, 62, depends on Napa Valley Adult Day Services in Napa, Calif. The program and others like it throughout the state have narrowly escaped elimination due to state budget cuts.

Calif. Hospital Report Cards Likely To Go Away

KFF Health News Original

Most major hospitals in California give data voluntarily to independent analysts who publish consumer-friendly reports. But the California Hospital Association says it is withdrawing from the project.

Local California Republicans Quietly Embrace Medicaid Expansion

KFF Health News Original

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the House, has made it clear that he wants President Obama’s health overhaul law repealed. But conservative lawmakers in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., and elsewhere in the state are expanding insurance coverage for low-income adults.

Big Hospitals Dictate Premiums Using Their Clout

KFF Health News Original

Hospitals are using their size and pricing clout to define premiums for people around America, like in the Sutter Health system in California, where hospital prices are among the highest in the nation.