Recovery From Addiction Is a Journey. There’s No One-and-Done Solution.
By Bernard J. Wolfson
June 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Drug use has become a major public health crisis, but effective treatment remains hard to find. It does exist though. Columnist Bernard J. Wolfson offers advice on finding help and says not to expect a quick solution.
How Potential Medicaid Cuts Could Play Out in California
By Bernard J. Wolfson
December 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As Donald Trump prepares to reenter the White House with a Republican-controlled Congress, health officials and community advocates in California worry that large-scale Medicaid cuts could be enacted as soon as next year. More than 60% of California’s $161 billion Medi-Cal budget comes from Washington.
California Medicaid Ballot Measure Is Popular, Well Funded — And Perilous, Opponents Warn
By Bernard J. Wolfson
September 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Proposition 35, which would use revenue from a tax on managed-care plans to raise the pay of health care providers who serve Medi-Cal patients, has united a broad swath of California’s health care, business, and political establishments. But a newly formed, smaller group of opponents says it will do more harm than good.
In San Francisco’s Chinatown, a CEO Works With the Community To Bolster Hospital
By Bernard J. Wolfson
April 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Jian Zhang, an immigrant from China with a doctorate in nursing, leads the 88-bed Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. The facility faces financial constraints like other independent hospitals, but its strong community support and partnerships have helped it weather tough times.
Listen: How Does Human Composting Work?
October 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
California Healthline’s Bernard J. Wolfson went on the air to explain a new California law that will allow people to have their bodies reduced to compost after death, an alternative to the traditional-but-toxic methods of cremation and burial.
First Responders, Veterans Hail Benefits of Psychedelic Drugs as California Debates Legalization
By Bernard J. Wolfson
May 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California lawmakers have modified a psychedelic drug bill that was vetoed last year, narrowing it to allow only supervised use of psilocybin mushrooms, ecstasy, and other hallucinogens rather than decriminalize more broadly. The current bill would establish new state agencies to regulate the program.
When You Think About Your Health, Don’t Forget Your Eyes
By Bernard J. Wolfson
September 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Americans think losing their eyesight would be one of the worst possible health outcomes, yet millions lack a fundamental understanding of eye health.
New Eligibility Rules Are a Financial Salve for Nearly 2 Million on Medi-Cal
By Bernard J. Wolfson
February 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Nearly 2 million Medi-Cal enrollees, mainly people who are aged, disabled, or in long-term care, can now accumulate savings and property without limitations and still qualify for the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents. They join an additional roughly 12 million enrollees who already had no asset limits.
Patients for Profit: How Private Equity Hijacked Health Care
February 9, 2023
Page
Featured Stories A quote from a source in the series Video Explainer More Stories in the Series Where Else is Private Equity Making Inroads? A quote from a source in the series Explore the Database KFF Health News analyzed 600 deals by 25 firms PitchBook identified as the top private equity investors in health care. […]
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
By Bernard J. Wolfson
September 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.
California Bill Would Require State Review of Private Equity Deals in Health Care
By Bernard J. Wolfson
August 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Proposed legislation would require the state attorney general’s consent for a wide range of private equity acquisitions in health care. The hospital lobby negotiated an exemption for for-profit hospitals.
California Leaders Tussle With Health Industry Over Billions of New Dollars for Medi-Cal
By Bernard J. Wolfson
June 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to pull funds earmarked for new investment in Medi-Cal to help plug California’s $45 billion deficit. A state budget passed June 13 by the legislature largely endorsed Newsom’s plan. Voters could settle the matter in an industry-backed initiative that has qualified for the November ballot.
California Dabbles With Reining in Health Spending
By Bernard J. Wolfson
June 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California is now among the states trying to keep health-care costs down by setting spending caps — a task that pits public officials against a deeply entrenched and heavily lawyered set of players. It’s uncertain whether the state can get insurers, hospitals and medical groups to collaborate on containing costs even as they jockey for […]
California Becomes Latest State To Try Capping Health Care Spending
By Bernard J. Wolfson
June 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California is the ninth state to set annual health spending targets for the industry. Already hospitals and doctors are voicing resistance to the fledgling Office of Health Care Affordability, even as they avoid overtly opposing its goals.
The Psychedelics-As-Medicine Movement Spreads to California
By Bernard J. Wolfson
May 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Ecstasy, “magic mushrooms” and other psychedelic drugs could soon be recognized as therapeutic in California — one of the latest states, and the biggest, to consider allowing their use as medicine. Legislation by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) and Assembly member Marie Waldron (R) would allow the therapeutic use of psilocybin, mescaline, ecstasy and dimethyltryptamine […]
Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds
By Molly Castle Work
June 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Medical debt is a leading public health problem, researchers say. Despite the county’s ongoing expansion of health coverage, the prevalence of medical debt remained unchanged from 2017 to 2021.
Nuevas normas de elegibilidad son un alivio financiero para casi 2 millones de personas en Medi-Cal
By Bernard J. Wolfson
February 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Este grupo se equiparará a los aproximadamente 12 millones de otros beneficiarios que no tienen límites de activos.
Los médicos son tan vulnerables a la adicción como cualquier persona
By Bernard J. Wolfson
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
El alcohol es una droga muy común entre los médicos, pero su fácil acceso a los analgésicos es también un riesgo particular.
Doctors Are as Vulnerable to Addiction as Anyone. California Grapples With a Response.
By Bernard J. Wolfson
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Medical Board of California, which licenses MDs, is developing a program to evaluate, treat, and monitor doctors with alcohol and drug problems. But there is sharp disagreement over whether those who might volunteer for the program should be subject to public disclosure and over how much participants should pay.
Bold Changes Are in Store for Medi-Cal in 2024, but Will Patients Benefit?
By Bernard J. Wolfson
December 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
California’s Medicaid program is undergoing major changes that could improve health care for residents with low incomes. But they are happening at the same time as several other initiatives that could compete for staff attention and confuse enrollees.
