Category: California

California Senate’s New Health Chair to Prioritize Mental Health and Homelessness

California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.

Lost Sleep and Jangled Nerves: The Rising Onslaught of Noise Harms Mind and Body

Noise pollution is a growing problem that isn’t confined to the ears: It can cause harm throughout the body. California is taking baby steps to address the increasing din from traffic and illegally modified cars, but public health experts urge lawmakers to act more boldly.

Many Families With Unaffordable Employer Coverage Now Eligible for Covered California Subsidies

If family coverage on an employer-sponsored plan is too expensive, a worker’s spouse and dependents may be eligible for Affordable Care Act subsidies under a new federal rule.

ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal and Seek to Ban Them

Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices.

The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Town May Be a Doctor — Or Not

Across the country, there are no consistent requirements for the officials who investigate suspicious and unexpected deaths. Some have no medical training, others are doctors trained in forensic pathology. Washington, California, Illinois, and Georgia are among the states that have recently attempted to make changes — with mixed success.

After Tuition, Books, and Room and Board, Colleges’ Rising Health Fees Hit a Nerve

Many colleges require students to have health insurance coverage, and the college option can be costly. In addition, some schools mandate that students pay a fee to cover health services on campus.

To Attract In-Home Caregivers, California Offers Paid Training — And Self-Care

Turnover ails a program that allows low-income people who are older or disabled to age in place. To attract new workers and improve retention, the state is paying caregivers to develop new skills.

Watch: Big Medicaid Changes in California Leave Millions of Patients Behind

KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discusses how California’s big Medicaid experiment to bring social services to the sickest and costliest patients doesn’t help most patients.

Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California

KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin.

A Work-From-Home Culture Takes Root in California

Even as pandemic lockdowns fade into memory, covid-19 has transformed California’s workplace culture in ways researchers say will reverberate well beyond 2022. According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, working from home for some portion of the week has become the new normal for a large segment of Californians. The data shows high-income […]