Weekly Edition: November 1, 2019

Grief Grew Into A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill
By Laura Ungar She spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic.

If Power Outages Are California’s New Normal, What About Home Medical Needs?
By Mark Kreidler Those who rely on plug-in health devices or medicine that requires refrigeration are scrambling to find ways to avoid potentially life-threatening disruptions now and in future fire season shutdowns.

Farmworkers Face Daunting Health Risks In California’s Wildfires
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester October marks not only fire season in California, but also the peak of the grape harvest. In areas not imminently threatened by the explosive Kincade Fire in Sonoma County’s fabled vineyards, workers labored through heat and smoke, or faced lost wages.

California Fires Illuminate Trauma And Resilience
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester The chaos and evacuations prompted by wind-fueled wildfire in Sonoma County pose special challenges for people in need of ongoing medical treatment. Volunteer medical personnel have stepped up to provide care and a sense of stability.

Snooze You Can Use: California Legislates More Sleep For Better Health
By Mark Kreidler Other states may follow California’s new law requiring later start times for middle and high school students. The new law highlights the importance of better sleep, which will once again be on people’s minds as most of America — but not all — sets the clock back an hour early next month.

‘Invincible’ Teen Vapers Face Fears, Ask For Help
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio Starting to vape is easy, but quitting a nicotine habit can be tough, teens are finding. Some vaping cessation programs have begun to reach out to teens where they live — on their phones.

States Try A Gentler Approach To Getting Medicaid Enrollees To Work
By Phil Galewitz Facing GOP pressure to install work requirements for adults getting Medicaid coverage, some states seek instead to offer more opportunities for job training.

California Nursing Home Residents Told To Find New Homes
By Jocelyn Wiener Dozens of frail nursing home residents have been informed by their Medi-Cal managed care plans that they are no longer eligible for long-term care. Some health care advocates and legal aid attorneys fear that such terminations will increase as the state implements mandatory managed care for nursing home residents.

Obamacare’s Star Ratings Offer A Glimmer Of Insight ― But Not For All
By Lauren Weber and Phil Galewitz Federal officials unveil new ratings for the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace plans. Missouri is one of eight states that has no plans earning at least three stars on a five-star scale.

Employers Are Scaling Back Their Dependence On High-Deductible Health Plans
By Michelle Andrews Firms are offering more traditional plans alongside or instead of the plans with sky-high deductibles that may have been the only option in the past. The change comes as employers are finding that workers like the predictability of a traditional plan and that providing more generous plans can help with recruiting in a tight labor market.

Hospitals Take Shot At Opioid Makers Over Cost Of Treating Uninsured For Addiction
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio A few hundred hospitals have banded together to sue drugmakers in state courts, but far more are staying on the sidelines to avoid 'unflattering attention' about their role in the opioid crisis.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Spooky Stuff
If it’s Halloween, that means open enrollment for plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges is right around the corner. Prices are down this year, but the future of the health law remains in doubt due to a lawsuit seeking to have the entire measure thrown out. This week, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, the panelists read the top entries in KHN’s Halloween Health Haiku Contest.

Haiku Winner Unmasked! From Gobs Of Frightening Entries, One Rises Above
KHN's first annual Halloween Haiku Contest gave us chills. And, based on a review by our expert panel of judges, here's the winner and a sampling of finalists.

Moved Overseas For School, Stayed For Insulin
By Shefali Luthra Katie West, an American health researcher who has lived in Germany the past three years, hasn’t mastered the language and misses her family. But not having to worry about the cost of her lifesaving medication makes it OK.

Meth Trip Or Mental Illness? Police Who Need To Know Often Can’t Tell
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR The calming techniques that officers learn during training to intervene in a mental health crisis don't seem to work as well when a suspect is high on meth. Meth calls can be much more dangerous, police say.