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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.
A dental device called AGGA has been used on about 10,000 patients without FDA approval or proof that it works. In lawsuits, patients report irreparable harm. The AGGA鈥檚 inventor and manufacturer have denied all liability in court.
The removals, detailed in emails between state and federal health officials, hinged on disagreements over how states could disenroll people during the public health emergency. Consumer advocates fear the alleged violation signals the mess to come on April 1, when the pandemic-era Medicaid coverage mandate ends.
As many lower-income Americans prepare to lose pandemic-era access to Medicaid, President Joe Biden vowed to stop Republicans from making deeper cuts to lower the national debt. Other changes may still be up for discussion.
Mayor Eric Adams鈥 announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New York鈥檚 sexual health clinics is the city鈥檚 latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.
Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers find ways to get around new surprise-billing laws, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency 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.
Programs assisting people with dementia 鈥 and their caregivers 鈥 improve quality of life and care. But millions of unpaid family and friend caregivers may not know where or how to find help.
Colorado鈥檚 proposed legislation to cap the copay for the EpiPen is part of a nationwide trend as more states try to shield patients from skyrocketing drug prices.
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.
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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.
Lawmakers are considering creating standards to set Medicaid reimbursement rates. But industry observers wonder whether the move would be too little, too late to bolster a beleaguered industry.
鈥淲hat happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas,鈥 warns an abortion rights advocate bracing for a district judge鈥檚 ruling on whether the abortion pill mifepristone was properly authorized by the FDA. His decision could force the medication off the U.S. market.
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It鈥檚 a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
In a few weeks, pandemic-era emergency boosts to SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will be rolled back across 32 states, putting more pressure on food pantries to fill the gaps and exacerbating challenges for rural areas, where a greater share of people are enrolled in the program compared with metro areas.
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.
Patients who depend upon special drugs to treat rare diseases are caught in the crossfire as drugmakers and the FDA battle over regulations that reward companies for developing treatments for relatively small pools of patients.
