‘An Arm and a Leg’: Checking Up on California’s DIY Insulin Project
California put up $100 million to produce its own insulin. How did this plan come to be, and what might stand in the state’s way?
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
2,861 - 2,880 of 15,240 Results
California put up $100 million to produce its own insulin. How did this plan come to be, and what might stand in the state’s way?
People now have at their disposal more medicines that are effective at reducing weight, but none can counter obesity alone. One big problem: Insurance coverage remains spotty, and the costly drugs may be needed long term.
Smoke- and ash-filled air can trigger or exacerbate severe respiratory conditions. But the medical specialists who treat these illnesses are often scarce where they are most in need.
A new KFF poll shows Democrats and those living in states where abortion is illegal say the issue has made them more motivated to vote. It also shows that 70% of Republicans oppose total abortion bans.
The human body mass index — a simple mathematical equation — is tied to a measure of obesity invented almost 200 years ago. On the downside, it can stand between patients and treatment for weight issues. It particularly mismeasures Black women and Asians.
MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won’t improve access to basic care.
For older people, the pandemic is as taxing and worrisome as ever. Experts in geriatric care, mental health, social services, and infectious disease joined a KHN-Hartford Foundation panel to talk about a third covid winter and its outsize toll on seniors.
The idea of human composting — to help restore a forest or grow flowers — may be a little off-putting to some, but it has many advantages over traditional-but-toxic methods of burial and cremation.
Hospitals have specialists ready to offer consult and care for concerns from cancer to childbirth but often no one with expertise in addiction medicine. Patients with a history of substance use — who are discharged without care — are at risk for overdose.
Creole-speaking public health workers teach women how to test themselves for HPV, the virus that causes some cervical cancers.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The laws criminalizing abortion in many conservative U.S. states are expected to boost birth rates among teens, whose bodies often aren’t built for safe childbirth. For adolescents, the emotional and physical challenges of carrying a pregnancy to term can be daunting.
Submissions are open for KHN’s fourth annual Halloween Haiku competition. Send us your best scary poems -- if you dare.
Hundreds of medical centers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts face serious risks from even relatively weak storms as climate change accelerates sea-level rise — not to mention big ones like Category 4 Hurricane Ian.
Twelve years ago, Marna Clarke was seized by a desire to examine what she looked like at age 70 — and to document the results. This creative project has sustained and engaged her since.
Congress won’t be back in Washington until after Election Day, but lawmakers have left themselves a long list of items to finish up in November and December, including unfinished health care policies. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call; Jessie Hellmann, also of CQ Roll Call; and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sam Whitehead, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family who tried to use urgent care to save money, but ended up with a big emergency room bill anyway.
New policies to prevent unpaid medical bills from harming people’s credit scores are on the way. But the concessions made by top credit reporting companies may fall short for those with the largest debt — especially Black Americans in the South.
Penny Wingard, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina, worries she won’t ever get out from under her medical debt despite new policies that are supposed to prevent medical debt from harming people’s credit scores.
If an embryo has implanted in a fallopian tube, ending the pregnancy is imperative to protect the patient’s life. Women’s health advocates have raised concerns that the needed treatment may be hampered by restrictive abortion laws in some states. Yet women seeking treatment in states with more liberal abortion laws may still find the process expensive and harrowing.
If California voters approve one or both sports-wagering initiatives on the November ballot, psychiatrists anticipate more cases of problem gambling and gambling addiction. They’re especially concerned about online betting, a very addictive way to play.
© 2026 KFF