Medicare Vs. Medicare Advantage: How To Choose
Despite Medicare Advantage plans’ increasing popularity, several key features remain poorly understood. Here is what you need to know.
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Hospitals Step In To Help House The Homeless. Will It Make A Difference?
They say it will help reduce unnecessary ER visits and ensure better follow-up care. It’s also good P.R., and helps them meet their obligations to provide benefits to the community in exchange for significant tax breaks.
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Fires Prey On Frail Residents Living On Their Own
The ferocious fires in Northern California underscore the vulnerability of seniors and disabled people whose mobility is limited. Experts recommend basic precautions.
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Social Media Is Harming The Minds Of Our Youth, Right? Maybe Not.
The harmful effects of all those hours on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are well-documented. But lesser-known research shows that social media use may also provide mental health benefits.
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Training New Doctors Right Where They’re Needed
Eight teaching centers in California aim to train and retain doctors in medically underserved areas such as California’s Central Valley. They are among 57 such institutions across the country that may soon receive a boost in funding from Congress.
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Your Grandma’s Guide To Grass: Calif. Rolls Out Website To Cut Through Cannabis Haze
Many Californians have been using pot for years, legally and illegally. But newbies, even Grandma, might benefit from a website that contains warnings about the risks.
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Moms Of Children With Rare Genetic Illness Push For Wider Newborn Screening
California is one of only a handful of states nationwide that screens babies for the gene mutation that causes a rare brain disease — a test that dramatically increases a sick child’s chances of survival.
By Anna Gorman -
UCLA Offers Depression Screening To Thousands Of Incoming Students
Hoping to head off mental health crises, university officials say they will provide free online treatment to those who need it. The officials believe theirs is the largest effort of its kind in the country.
By Brian Rinker -
California Scrambles To Contain ‘Unprecedented’ Hepatitis A Outbreaks
Hundreds of people, most of them homeless, have been infected. In San Diego County, where 17 people have died, critics fault authorities for being slow to act.
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To Wage War On Superbugs, FDA Clears Way For Scope With A Disposable Piece
Agency says a removable cap will lower the risk of antibiotic resistant infections but some experts see it as a modest step in curbing the sort of deadly outbreaks that occurred a few years ago.
By Chad Terhune -
High On Drugs? Anthem Cites Soaring Drug Costs To Justify 35% Rate Hike in California
The company’s drug spending prediction, far above other insurers in the individual market, has experts scratching their heads. Anthem cites market volatility.
By Chad Terhune -
Open Your Mouth And Say Goo-Goo: Dentists Treating Ever-Younger Patients
A shift in dental guidelines encourages first dental visits for infants as young as 6 months, or when the first baby teeth emerge. That makes some dentists uncomfortable.
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This Gift Voucher Might Just Get You A Kidney
A retired California judge came up with the idea of donating his kidney to a stranger now to maximize his grandson’s prospects for such a donation later. The idea caught on.
By Fran Kritz -
For Low-Income Drug Users, Medi-Cal Offers A Fresh Start
Under a five-year agreement with the federal government, California is using Medicaid dollars to expand drug treatment, including more inpatient care and a broader range of medications.
By Anna Gorman -
Move To End DACA Leaves Some Young Immigrants Fearing For Their Health
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program made it possible for young adults who came into the country illegally as children to get jobs with insurance and, in some states including California, Medicaid. Now that coverage is in peril.
By Barbara Feder Ostrov and Anna Gorman -
Another Way For Anti-Vaxxers To Skip Shots For Schoolkids: A Doctor’s Note
No longer able to get exemptions for personal beliefs in California, parents opposed to inoculations seem to be obtaining medical exemptions for their children, according to a new study.
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California, Other States To Extend Obamacare Sign-Up Beyond Federal Limit
Several state-based exchanges and the District of Columbia will allow people more than the 45 days set by the Trump administration.
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Why One California County Went Surgery Shopping
Fed up with high hospital costs and limited competition, Santa Barbara County sends willing employees out of town for better bargains. Local governments are slowly joining private employers in aggressively seeking out the best care for the lowest price.
By Chad Terhune -
What Happens If You’re Forced To Switch Health Plans When You’re Sick?
State lawmakers in California have an answer: legislation that would require your new insurer to keep paying for your current doctors even if they’re not in the network.
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Writing Your Way Through Cancer
A breast cancer survivor and author has helped numerous patients explore the feelings awakened by their disease — and feel better.