Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Slaps Surcharge On ACA Plans As Trump Remains Coy On Subsidies
Covered California authorized a 12.4 percent average surcharge on silver-tier plans, the second-least expensive option sold on the exchange. It brings the total average premium increase on those plans to nearly 25 percent next year.
¿Las redes sociales dañan la mente de nuestros jóvenes? Tal vez no…
Nuevos estudios muestran que las redes sociales no impactan de manera negativa, sino por el contrario, muchas veces ayudan a encontrar apoyo y a elevar la autoestima.
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.
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.
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.
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.
To Wage War On Superbugs, FDA Clears Way For Scope With A Disposable Piece
Agency says a removable cap will lower the risk of antibiotic resistant infections but some experts see it as a modest step in curbing the sort of deadly outbreaks that occurred a few years ago.
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.
Abre la boca y di “ahhh”: los dentistas tratan cada vez a niños más pequeños
Asociaciones de odontólogos recomiendan que los niños pequeños vayan al dentista antes de cumplir el año, o cuando se asoma el primer diente, para evitar un futuro lleno de caries.
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.
Con el fin de DACA, jóvenes inmigrantes temen por su salud
La polémica decisión de la administración Trump de eliminar el programa DACA hace más que poner a casi 800.000 “dreamers” bajo el miedo a la deportación. Amenaza el cuidado de salud de miles de adultos jóvenes.
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.
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.
California, Other States To Extend Obamacare Sign-Up Beyond Federal Limit
Several state-based exchanges and the District of Columbia will allow people more than the 45 days set by the Trump administration.
Estados extenderán la inscripción del Obamacare más allá del límite federal
Varios estados evitarán este año una nueva regla de la administración Trump que reduce a la mitad el tiempo que los consumidores tienen para comprar un seguro médico individual en los mercados establecidos por ACA.
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.
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.
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.
Why One Insurer’s Collapse Could Whack Insurers, Policyholders Across the Country
Little-known rules require all health insurance companies to help pay claims when any one of them fails. Penn Treaty failed big — and insurers around the country are likely to pass those costs onto policyholders.
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.
