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Listen: An Unsettling Investigation Into the Closure of a Chain of Pain Clinics
KHN senior correspondents Jenny Gold and Anna Maria Barry-Jester joined KVPR’s Kathleen Schock on “Valley Edition” to discuss their investigation into the abrupt closure of one of California’s largest chain of pain clinics — and the patients left behind.
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New Weight Loss Treatment Is Marked by Heavy Marketing and Modest Results
Approved as a device, not a drug, Plenity contains a plant-based gel that swells to fill 25% of a person’s stomach, to help people eat less. Results vary widely but are modest on average.
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Trauma Surgeons Detail the Horror of Mass Shootings in the Wake of Uvalde and Call for Reforms
Trauma surgeons say that the weapons used in mass shootings are not new but that more of these especially deadly guns are on the street, causing injuries that are difficult to survive.
By Andy Miller and Lauren Sausser -
Despite Losing Federal Money, California Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents for Covid — For Now
Federal funding that paid for covid testing, treatment, and vaccines for uninsured people has run out. While some states struggle to make up the difference, California is relying on other state and local programs to continue free testing.
By Rachel Bluth -
Long Wait for Justice: People in Jail Face Delays for Mental Health Care Before They Can Stand Trial
People in jail who have serious mental illness and cannot stand trial because of their condition are waiting months, or even more than a year, to get into their state psychiatric hospitals.
By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine -
‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors
Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.
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Abortion Politics Lead to Power Struggles Over Family Planning Grants
Conservative-leaning states and nonprofit reproductive health care providers are competing over control of states’ Title X funding for family planning programs.
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How a Former Catholic Priest Is Navigating a California Medicaid Plan Through Big Changes
Michael Hunn left the clergy and became a hospital and health system executive. He’s been named CEO of CalOptima, Orange County’s Medi-Cal health insurance plan for low-income residents, and his spiritual background is helping him guide the publicly run plan into the future.
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Tech Glitches at One VA Site Raise Concerns About a Nationwide Rollout
The more than $16 billion, decade-long effort by the Department of Veterans Affairs was designed to provide seamless electronic health records for patients from enlistment in the military past discharge.
By Darius Tahir -
A Jolt To The Jugular! You’re Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack
A Texas teacher, 44, faces a “balance bill” of almost twice his annual salary for a heart attack he never expected to have.
By Chad Terhune -
Playing On Fear And Fun, Hospitals Follow Pharma In Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
Hospitals are increasingly advertising medical services directly to patients to enhance their national brands. They think the image building improves their ability to negotiate with health plans and brings in wealthier patients.
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Race Is Often Used as Medical Shorthand for How Bodies Work. Some Doctors Want to Change That.
Physicians have long believed it’s good medicine to consider race in health care. But recently, rather than perpetuate the myth that race governs how bodies function, a more nuanced approach has emerged: acknowledging that racial health disparities often reflect the effects of generations of systemic racism, such as lack of access to stable housing or nutritious food.
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony -
NICU Bill Installment Plan: That’ll Be $45,843 a Month for 12 Months, Please
After baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and spent more than 50 days in the neonatal ICU, his parents received a bill of more than $550,000 — despite having insurance. The Florida hospital had a not-so-helpful suggestion: monthly payments of more than $45,000 for a year.
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Layers of Subcontracted Services Confuse and Frustrate Medi-Cal Patients
Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.
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Judge’s Ruling on the CDC Mask Mandate Highlights the Limits of the Agency’s Power
A recent court decision that overturns one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s few pandemic rules — masks required on public transportation — spotlights how little power remains in federal hands to enforce public health protections.
By Sam Whitehead and Julie Appleby -
The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?
“I don’t feel any consumer should have to go through this,” says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a "Bill of the Month" patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.
By Chad Terhune -
With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
By Rachel Bluth -
Climate Change May Push the US Toward the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ for West Nile Virus
Colorado recently recorded the most West Nile virus deaths and cases of neuroinvasive infections in nearly two decades. Scientists warn that climate change will make conditions ripe for more West Nile transmission.
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California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care
In California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that’s an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.