Olympic Dream Dashed After Bike Crash and Nightmare Medical Bill Over $200K
By Samantha Young
July 29, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A bicyclist from California competed in a Pennsylvania race that could have landed him in this month’s Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash on the velodrome track landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-state, out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.
A Family Wellness Check: California Invests in Treating Parents and Children Together
By Samantha Young
July 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The state will be the first to offer comprehensive counseling services to parents during pediatric visits as part of Medicaid.
Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations
By Samantha Young and Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine
November 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
Doctors’ Lobby Scores ‘Major Victory’ on Bill to Hold Physicians Accountable
By Samantha Young
June 28, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Patients and some lawmakers have long blasted the Medical Board of California for failing to discipline negligent or abusive physicians. But the politically powerful California Medical Association, which represents doctors, has mobilized against the latest attempt to give the board more money and power to investigate complaints.
Confronting Our ‘Frailties’: California’s Assembly Leader Reflects on a Year of Covid
By Samantha Young
May 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon says covid exposed long-standing health care inequities that must be addressed. He told KHN he wants to get more people insured, boost broadband access so more patients can use telehealth and increase funding to local health departments.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer
July 29, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.
You’ve Added Your Kids to Your Health Plan. What About Mom?
By Samantha Young
May 13, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A bill in the California legislature would require state-regulated health plans to cover policyholders’ dependent parents. Advocates say the measure would reduce the number of uninsured people, while business groups warn of premium increases.
Has agregado a tus hijos a tu plan de salud. ¿Y tu mamá?
By Samantha Young
May 13, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Un proyecto de ley en California exigiría que los planes de salud regulados por el estado cubran a los padres dependientes de los asegurados. Según activistas, la medida reduciría el número de personas sin seguro; pero grupos empresariales advierten sobre el aumento de las primas.
‘Not Quite on Board’: Parents Proving a Tough Sell on Covid Vax for Teens
By Jenny Gold and Samantha Young
November 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
California offers a lens on the challenges officials face in persuading parents to embrace covid shots for young children. While the state has a strong showing in overall vaccination rates, just 59% of kids 12 to 17 — eligible for a shot since May — are fully vaccinated.
Otra victoria para la industria: fracasa proyecto de ley de impuestos a sodas
By Samantha Young
April 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
En los últimos cuatro años, las empresas de refrescos gastaron alrededor de $5,9 millones presionando a legisladores de California y haciendo donaciones a sus campañas u organizaciones benéficas favoritas.
Another Soda Tax Bill Dies. Another Win for Big Soda.
By Samantha Young
April 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A bill that would have allowed California cities and counties to once again pursue taxes on sugary drinks was just shelved in the legislature without a hearing. Public health advocates blame the political — and financial — clout of the soft drink industry.
Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’
By KFF Health News Staff
December 7, 2020
KFF Health News Original
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.
Readers and Tweeters Take a Close Look at Eye Care and White Mulberry Leaf
September 29, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Health Industry Wields Power in California’s High-Stakes Battle to Lower Health Care Costs
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
October 13, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to regulate out-of-control health care spending in California. The effort is being shaped by the very health industry players that would be regulated.
California quiere producir su propia insulina para bajar su alto costo, ¿lo conseguirá?
By Angela Hart
June 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
La administración del gobernador Gavin Newsom señaló que aproximadamente 4 millones de californianos han sido diagnosticados con diabetes, una enfermedad que puede destruir órganos, la vista y llevar a amputaciones si no se controla. La meta es prevenirlo con insulina más económica.
Xavier Becerra en sus propias palabras: “La atención de salud es un derecho”
December 7, 2020
KFF Health News Original
El presidente electo Joe Biden eligió al fiscal general de California, Xavier Becerra, para dirigir el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales (HHS). Como fiscal general y durante sus 24 años en el Congreso, Becerra ha sostenido posiciones progresistas en cuestiones de atención de salud, peleando contra la administración Trump sobre planificación familiar, demandando al mayor sistema de salud de California por conducta monopólica, y definiendóse como un defensor del sistema de salud de pagador único.
California Aims to Address the ‘Urgent’ Needs of Older Residents. But Will Its Plan Work?
By Samantha Young
February 18, 2021
KFF Health News Original
State officials recently unveiled a “master plan” to address the needs of California’s rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.
Watch: Fauci, Other Health Officials Weigh California’s COVID Response
June 25, 2020
KFF Health News Original
California Healthline’s Samantha Young helped lead a discussion about the state’s response to the novel coronavirus. Infections and hospitalizations are surging across the state.
It’s Not Just Covid: Recall Candidates Represent Markedly Different Choices on Health Care
By Samantha Young and Rachel Bluth
September 10, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Those seeking to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Tuesday’s recall election disagree with him on more than mask and vaccine mandates. The conservative candidates tend to favor free-market solutions over Newsom’s expansion of publicly funded health coverage.
California Governor’s Big Promises on Drug Prices Are Slow to Materialize
By Angela Hart and Rachel Bluth and Samantha Young
March 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched several initiatives to cut rising drug prices, but the savings haven’t been as monumental as he promised. And his plan to have California make its own generic drugs hasn’t gotten off the ground.