California Healthline

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Despite Doctors’ Concerns, University of California Renews Ties With Religious Affiliates

KFF Health News Original

The public university’s health system is renewing contracts with outside hospitals and clinics even as some doctors and faculty say clearer language is needed to protect physicians performing abortions and gender-affirming treatments.

Listen: Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Community — And Why It Matters

KFF Health News Original

KHN senior correspondent Samantha Young appeared on the “Apple News Today” podcast and KOA, a public radio station in Denver, to discuss the difference between coroners and medical examiners and why it matters.

California Senate’s New Health Chair to Prioritize Mental Health and Homelessness

KFF Health News Original

California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.

Lost Sleep and Jangled Nerves: The Rising Onslaught of Noise Harms Mind and Body

KFF Health News Original

Noise pollution is a growing problem that isn’t confined to the ears: It can cause harm throughout the body. California is taking baby steps to address the increasing din from traffic and illegally modified cars, but public health experts urge lawmakers to act more boldly.

ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal and Seek to Ban Them

KFF Health News Original

Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices.

The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Town May Be a Doctor — Or Not

KFF Health News Original

Across the country, there are no consistent requirements for the officials who investigate suspicious and unexpected deaths. Some have no medical training, others are doctors trained in forensic pathology. Washington, California, Illinois, and Georgia are among the states that have recently attempted to make changes — with mixed success.

Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California

KFF Health News Original

KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin.

A Work-From-Home Culture Takes Root in California

KFF Health News Original

New U.S. Census Bureau data shows a large segment of Californians are working from home for part or all of the week. Researchers say the shift will ripple through the broader economy in ways big and small.

California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs

KFF Health News Original

California is collecting hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax penalties from uninsured residents. The state was supposed to use the money to help lower costs for Californians who couldn’t afford insurance but hasn’t distributed any of the revenue it has collected — citing uncertain economic times.

Election Canvassers Want Latinos to Know Voting Is Good for Their Health

KFF Health News Original

One of the nation’s largest community clinic chains is running a get-out-the-vote campaign in Los Angeles and Orange counties this election, targeting primarily Latino communities, where turnout tends to be low.

Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations

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.

California’s Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban Gives Hookah a Pass

KFF Health News Original

Californians will decide Nov. 8 whether to approve a statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. But the measure, known as Proposition 31, exempts hookah tobacco. Anti-smoking activists criticize the carve-out, calling it the latest example of businesses using identity politics to profit from a deadly product.

California Patients Fear Fallout From Third Dialysis Ballot Measure

KFF Health News Original

Californians are facing the third statewide dialysis initiative in five years. The dialysis industry is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 29 and is running ads saying the measure would force clinics to close — a message that appears to be resonating with patients.

Ambulance Company to Halt Some Rides in Southern California, Citing Low Medicaid Rates

KFF Health News Original

American Medical Response, the largest U.S. ambulance company, is ending nonemergency transportation for 12 hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties, saying the state doesn’t pay enough to transport low-income patients. The state is pushing back.