Latest KFF Health News Stories
Battle Lines Are Drawn Over California Deal With Kaiser Permanente
A controversial proposal to grant HMO giant Kaiser Permanente a no-bid statewide Medicaid contract is headed for its first legislative hearing amid vocal opposition from a coalition of counties, competing health plans, community clinics, and a national health care labor union.
It’s Not Just Physicians and Nurses. Veterinarians Are Burning Out, Too.
Empathy overload and compassion fatigue contribute to the mental health woes of veterinarians, who are more likely than other Americans to attempt suicide. And with 23 million families adopting pets during the pandemic, vets’ stress burden is no doubt heavier now.
How a Former Catholic Priest Is Navigating a California Medicaid Plan Through Big Changes
Michael Hunn left the clergy and became a hospital and health system executive. He’s been named CEO of CalOptima, Orange County’s Medi-Cal health insurance plan for low-income residents, and his spiritual background is helping him guide the publicly run plan into the future.
California Sees Dramatic Decline in Child Homicide Victims. What’s Changed?
Bucking the alarming spike in overall homicides in recent years, the homicide rate involving young children is down 70% in California from three decades ago. The nation has seen a parallel, albeit slower, decline.
California Handed Its Medicaid Drug Program to One Company. Then Came a Corporate Takeover.
The company awarded the state’s Medi-Cal Rx contract was taken over by another company, Centene. That left the state with a contractor it didn’t pick — one that has been accused of overbilling nine other state Medicaid programs and is now under investigation by California.
Doctors Trying to Prescribe Abortion Pills Across State Lines Stymied by Legislation
Some doctors are getting licensed in multiple states so they can use telemedicine and mail-order pharmacies to provide medication abortions to more women. At the same time, states are cracking down on telemedicine abortions, blunting the efforts of out-of-state doctors.
Record Fines Might Mean California Is Finally Serious About Improving Medi-Cal
California regulators issued record fines against L.A. Care, the state’s largest Medi-Cal managed-care plan, for providing inadequate care to its enrollees. But whether the penalties are a sign that the state will make a more forceful effort to improve Medi-Cal’s overall quality of care remains to be seen.
Delays for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Grew Even Longer During the Pandemic
Despite increased public awareness, research advances, and wider insurance coverage for autism therapies, children often wait months — in some cases more than a year — to get an autism diagnosis and begin intervention services. The waits can be longer for Black and Latino children, and families in rural areas are also disadvantaged, without access to providers.
Covid and Schizophrenia: Why This Deadly Mix Can Deepen Knowledge of the Brain Disease
Recent studies from around the world have found that people with schizophrenia are as much as five times as likely to die from covid-19 as the general population. Scientists think the findings suggest schizophrenia is not just a disease of the brain, but also a disease of the immune system.
Senators Ask GAO to Examine Medicaid’s Low Covid Vaccination Rates
Sens. Robert Casey Jr. and Ron Wyden want a probe into what barriers are keeping Medicaid plans from reaching enrollees.
Health Officials See Bright Future in Poop Surveillance
Sewage surveillance is proving so useful in mapping covid trends that many public health officials say it should become standard practice in tracking infectious diseases. Whether that happens will depend on the nation’s ability to make it viable in communities rich and poor.
Can Melatonin Gummies Solve Family Bedtime Struggles? Experts Advise Caution
Throughout history, parents have searched for the secret to getting fretful children to sleep through the night. The latest strategy involves giving children melatonin-infused gummies and tablets, a trend that concerns some doctors.
To Families’ Dismay, Biden Nursing Home Reform Doesn’t View Them as Essential Caregivers
Relatives who often provide vital caregiving for nursing home residents say the lockdowns during the covid pandemic showed the need for family members to visit in person with their loved ones. About a dozen states have passed laws guaranteeing that right, and California is considering one.
Money Flows Into Addiction Tech, But Will It Curb Soaring Opioid Overdose Deaths?
Experts are concerned that flashy Silicon Valley technology won’t reach those most in need of treatment for substance use disorders.
Sharing Covid Vax Facts Inside ICE Detention, One Detainee at a Time
Thousands of ICE detainees nationwide have tested positive for covid; 11 have died. Medical providers in California are volunteering to educate immigrants awaiting trial or deportation about covid treatment and vaccination.
Want Vulnerable Californians to Have Healthier Pregnancies? Doulas Say the State Must Pay Up.
California was supposed to start paying doulas this year to help Medicaid enrollees have healthy pregnancies. But the benefit has been delayed because doulas feel lowballed by the state’s proposed reimbursement rate, which is below what most other states pay.
Listen: An Unsettling Investigation Into the Closure of a Chain of Pain Clinics
KHN senior correspondents Jenny Gold and Anna Maria Barry-Jester joined KVPR’s Kathleen Schock on “Valley Edition” to discuss their investigation into the abrupt closure of one of California’s largest chain of pain clinics — and the patients left behind.
One California University Has Unified Town and Gown to Fight Covid. Why Haven’t Others?
The University of California-Davis has spent close to $50 million preventing the spread of covid on campus — and among residents and workers in the adjacent city of Davis. By most accounts, this town-gown experiment has paid off nicely.
Watch: California’s Top Health Adviser on Learning to Live With Covid
KHN Senior Correspondent Samantha Young joined California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly for an engaging conversation about how California moves forward in an environment in which covid persists, but at more manageable levels.
When Teens Blow Off Parents’ Pleas to Get Vaccinated, the Consequences Can Be Deadly
Kennedy Stonum, a 17-year-old high school junior, resisted getting vaccinated against covid-19, as did 20-year-old Tyler Gilreath, whose mother had nagged him for months to get the shots. Both died.
