California Healthline

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Trying Out LA’s New Coronavirus Testing Regime

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles is the first big U.S. city to offer COVID-19 testing to anyone who wants it. Will it help restore normal life to the 10 million residents of the city and surrounding county?

Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots

KFF Health News Original

It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.

Do-It-Yourself Cheek Swab Tested As Next Best Thing To Detect Coronavirus

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles County is providing thousands of coronavirus self-testing kits to its citizens, but public health officials are leery of the shortage of data on whether this easier method ― in which an individual swabs his or her own cheek ― is as reliable as a less comfortable but well-established technique.

Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It’s ‘More Needed Than Ever’

KFF Health News Original

Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to pare down their legislative wish lists and focus on the state’s coronavirus response. But state Sen. Jim Beall plans to forge ahead with his mental health care proposals, including a measure to create a state mental health parity requirement.

Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress

KFF Health News Original

Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.

How Do We Exit The Shutdown? Hire An Army Of Public Health Workers

KFF Health News Original

The pandemic has exposed massive cracks in the foundations of the U.S. public health system. Getting the country back to normal, experts say, will require a major investment in Public Health 101: training a corps of workers who can track people with the virus and prevent them from passing it to others.

California Hospitals Face Surge With Proven Fixes And Some Hail Marys

KFF Health News Original

California is entering the most critical period in its battle against COVID-19, and may need thousands of hospital beds and ventilators to accommodate a surge of critically ill patients. Hospitals are taking extreme measures, such as using 3D printers to make ventilator parts and turning cafeterias into wards.

‘Essential’ Or Not, These Workers Report For Duty

KFF Health News Original

In Los Angeles County and beyond, people continue to toil through the coronavirus pandemic, often in positions that put them in constant contact with the public. Many are low-wage workers who can’t afford to stop working.

California’s New Attack On Opioid Addiction Hits Old Roadblocks

KFF Health News Original

State officials in California have achieved some success in promoting the use of medication-assisted treatment for people with opioid addictions, but they are bumping up against familiar resistance and constraints.

California Isn’t Testing Enough Children For Lead, Prompting Legislation

KFF Health News Original

A recent report by the California state auditor faults two state health departments for failing to ensure that children receive required blood lead tests and for not doing enough to reduce childhood lead exposure in high-risk areas. Lawmakers are proposing several measures to increase testing.

Public Health Officials To Newsom: Lockdown Won’t Work Without Enforcement

KFF Health News Original

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was out front nationally when he ordered nearly all Californians to stay at home to stem the spread of COVID-19. But local officials warn it won’t work without tougher enforcement.

California Lawmakers Struggle To Conduct Business Amid COVID-19 Lockdown

KFF Health News Original

In an interview with California Healthline, the state’s Senate leader, Toni Atkins, makes clear that with social-distancing measures in force it will be difficult to debate and pass complicated budget measures ― but public health, education and public safety will be priorities.

Photo Essay: LA Under Lockdown

KFF Health News Original

Californians are under orders to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus — and the result is that some of Southern California’s best-known spots are shuttered or deserted, from Santa Monica Pier to Olvera Street.