Giving Birth Is Hard Enough. Try It In The Middle Of A Wildfire.
Moms-to-be in labor had to be evacuated from Santa Rosa hospitals in the midst of the California wildfires.
California Bureau
Visit californiahealthline.org for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
1,581-1,600 of 1,984 results
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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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New Law Challenges ‘Evils’ Of Pharma Profits, California Governor Claims
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure, which takes effect next year and will require drug companies to publicly justify big price increases.
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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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Eyes Fixed On California As Governor Ponders Inking Drug Price Transparency Bill
"If it gets signed by this governor, it's going to send shock waves throughout the country,” one legislator says. Pharma has spent $16.8 million lobbying against this bill and other drug laws in California.
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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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Repeal & Replace Watch
A Tale Of Two States: California, Texas And The Latest ACA Repeal Bid
In the GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, California would lose a lot of federal funding. Texas would gain a lot in the short term, but experts worry Texas would not use the money well.
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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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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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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 -
A Long And Winding Road: Kicking Heroin In An Opioid ‘Treatment Desert’
Heather Menzel thought returning to her rural California hometown was the answer to her addiction problems. Then she discovered the town had no medical treatment options for her — but plenty of heroin.
By Brian Rinker -
Medi-Cal Sued For Pushing Patients Into Managed Care Despite Judges’ Orders
Advocates say California’s Medicaid program is violating its own rules by overturning decisions that would allow seriously ill patients to stay out of managed care and keep their doctors.
By Emily Bazar -
Lag In Brain Donation Hampers Understanding Of Dementia In Blacks
A long history of racism and cruel experimentation in health care are among the reasons African-American families oppose donating patients’ brains for study.
By Anna Gorman -
Anthem’s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries
The nation’s second-largest insurer is shrinking its presence on Obamacare exchanges and in the broader individual market in response to prevailing uncertainty. California is just the latest — and the biggest — example.
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Covered California Expects 12.5% Average Rate Rise In 2018
The figure could be higher if President Trump ends an important consumer subsidy, which he has threatened to do. The exchange also announced that Anthem Blue Cross will pull out of Covered California and the overall individual market in 16 of the 19 regions it currently serves.
By Emily Bazar and Anna Gorman