California

Latest KFF Health News Stories

El tipo de alimentación está vinculado a tasas más altas de preeclampsia en latinas

KFF Health News Original

No hay una forma de curar o predecir la preeclampsia. La enfermedad puede dañar el corazón y el hígado, y causar otras complicaciones tanto para la madre como para el bebé, incluido el parto prematuro e incluso la muerte.

Attacks on Emergency Room Workers Prompt Debate Over Tougher Penalties

KFF Health News Original

In California, assaulting paramedics or other emergency medical workers in the field carries stiffer fines and jail time than assaulting emergency room staffers. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would standardize the penalties.

Heat Protections for California Workers Are in Limbo After Newsom Abandons Rules

KFF Health News Original

Proposed rules to protect millions of workers from potentially dangerous heat inside workplaces are dead after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration refused to sign off. Labor advocates and state regulators are calling for emergency regulations before temperatures soar this summer.

California Is Expanding Insurance Access for Teenagers Seeking Therapy on Their Own

KFF Health News Original

A California law that takes effect this summer will grant minors on public insurance the ability to get mental health treatment without their parents’ consent, a privilege that their peers with private insurance have had for years. But the law has become a flashpoint in the state’s culture wars.

Emergency Physicians Decry Surprise Air-Ambulance Bills

KFF Health News Original

Emergency room doctors say insurers are increasingly declining to cover costly air-ambulance rides for critically ill patients, claiming they aren’t medically necessary. And the National Association of EMS Physicians says the No Surprises Act, enacted in 2022, is partly to blame. The law protects patients from many out-of-network medical bills by requiring insurers and providers […]

Programas de inteligencia artificial diagnostican retinopatía diabética en minutos

KFF Health News Original

En medio de todo el revuelo en torno a la inteligencia artificial en la atención médica, la tecnología de exámenes de la vista está surgiendo como uno de los primeros casos de uso probados de diagnósticos basados en IA en un entorno clínico.

As AI Eye Exams Prove Their Worth, Lessons for Future Tech Emerge

KFF Health News Original

With artificial intelligence in health care on the rise, eye screenings for diabetic retinopathy are emerging as one of the first proven use cases of AI-based diagnostics in a clinical setting.

California’s Expanded Health Coverage for Immigrants Collides With Medicaid Reviews

KFF Health News Original

A state policy to extend Medi-Cal to qualified Californians without legal residency is running up against a federal requirement to resume eligibility checks. The redetermination process is causing many Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, to be disenrolled.

Move to Protect California’s Indoor Workers From Heat Upended by Cost Questions

KFF Health News Original

A years-long process that would have created heat standards for California workers in warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other indoor job sites catapulted into chaos Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration pulled its support. Regulators, saying they felt “blindsided,” approved the regulation anyway. It’s unclear what happens next.

Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.

KFF Health News Original

The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children’s hospitals in Northern California.

How National Political Ambition Could Fuel, or Fail, Initiatives to Protect Abortion Rights in States

KFF Health News Original

As money flows to abortion rights initiatives in states, some donors focus on where anger over the “Dobbs” ruling could propel voter turnout and spur Democratic victories up and down the ballot, including in key Senate races and the White House.

As More States Target Disavowed ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis, Police Groups Push Back

KFF Health News Original

After California passed the first law in the nation to limit the disavowed term “excited delirium,” bills in other states are being introduced to help end use of the diagnosis. But momentum is being met with resistance from law enforcement and first responder groups, who cite free speech.

Secret Contract Aims to Upend Landmark California Prison Litigation

KFF Health News Original

California has commissioned an exhaustive study of whether its prisons provide a constitutional level of mental health care, which it could use to try to end one of the lawsuits that have federal courts overseeing the state’s prisons. But corrections officials won’t disclose even basic details of the consultants’ contract, including its cost to taxpayers.

A New $16,000 Postpartum Depression Drug Is Here. How Will Insurers Handle It?

KFF Health News Original

A pill form of an effective drug for postpartum depression hit the market in December, but most insurers do not yet have a policy on when or whether they will pay for it. The hurdles to obtain its predecessor medication have advocates worried.

California Voters Are Skeptical That More Money Is the Answer to Homelessness

KFF Health News Original

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature ballot measure to address mental illness, addiction, and homelessness with a $6.4 billion bond and other reforms, is barely ahead in the ongoing ballot count. The slim margin reflects a growing unease among Californians over the governor’s homelessness initiatives.

California Attorney General Boosts Bill Banning Medical Debt From Credit Reports

KFF Health News Original

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has thrown his weight behind state Sen. Monique Limón’s legislation to bar unpaid medical bills from showing up on consumer credit reports. If passed, California would join just a few other states with such protections.

Hospitales de California y defensores buscan financiación estable para retener a navegadores de salud conductual

KFF Health News Original

En 2022, el año más reciente del que se dispone de datos, 7,385 californianos murieron por sobredosis relacionadas con opioides, de los cuales el 88% involucró fentanilo, un opioide sintético que puede ser 50 veces más potente que la heroína.