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Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It鈥檚 one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It鈥檚 a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.
The state wants to stop paying Kaiser Permanente for treating severely mentally ill Medi-Cal patients in Sacramento and Solano counties and force the counties to take on the task. The counties鈥 leaders say they can鈥檛 afford it.
The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization 鈥 the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.
Many Black patients also try to be informed and minimize questions to put providers at ease. 鈥淭he system looks at us differently,鈥 says the founder of the African American Wellness Project.
Last year, state lawmakers adopted the country鈥檚 toughest online privacy restrictions. The law offers Congress a path forward on federal protections even as it serves as a cautionary tale for taking on Big Tech.
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
Consumer and patient advocates push for new federal rules to protect Americans from debt collectors and force hospitals to make financial assistance more accessible.
President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that federal funds will pay to replace lead pipes in hundreds of thousands of schools and child care centers. In the meantime, schools are dealing with high lead levels now.
Eli Lilly's news that it plans to cut insulin costs for patients will help, not hinder, the recent efforts in California and by entrepreneurs such as Mark Cuban to offer lower-cost alternatives, drug pricing experts said.
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state鈥檚 population 鈥 offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new 鈥淔aces of Medi-Cal鈥 series, California Healthline will assess the program鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.
More than 200 inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state prison officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention safeguards. Inmates, the judge writes, have 鈥渨aited far too long鈥 for adequate mental health care.
California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesn鈥檛 know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.
Nearly half a million Californians without legal residency make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet they can鈥檛 afford to buy coverage. A state lawmaker is proposing to open up the state鈥檚 health insurance exchange as a first step to providing them affordable insurance.
Rather than simply reward top-performing facilities, the state鈥檚 Medicaid program will hand bonuses to nursing homes 鈥 even low-rated ones 鈥 for hiring more workers and reducing staff turnover.
Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is winding down state assistance for health care services to migrants seeking asylum. He鈥檚 lobbying the Biden administration to increase aid along the state鈥檚 southern border.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
A state law establishes a list of representatives who can make medical decisions for patients unable to convey their wishes. California is late to making the change; 45 other states and the District of Columbia already have next-of-kin laws.
Twitter has been a hotbed for the burgeoning insulin access movement and activism surrounding other medical conditions. For people with diabetes, the platform has helped propel concern about insulin prices into policy. Can it continue to win with hashtags?
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