Category: California

Direct Primary Care, With a Touch of Robin Hood

Some doctors, sick of mainstream health care’s red tape, are finding refuge in practices that combine concierge medicine with charity care.

‘Down to My Last Diaper’: The Anxiety of Parenting in Poverty

Diapers are a baby essential, but no federal program helps families cover their considerable cost. Jennifer Randles, a professor of sociology at Fresno State in California, spoke with KHN about her novel research exploring the outsize role “diaper math” plays in the lives of low-income moms.

California’s Mental Health Crisis: What Went Wrong? And Can We Fix It?

KHN’s Angela Hart leads a lively discussion on the challenges facing California’s mental health care system and potential solutions. The panel was part of a broader symposium on mental health and addiction hosted by the Sacramento-based publication Capitol Weekly.

Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-to-School Challenges

For children with special needs returning to an L.A. classroom, mask-wearing is the least of their troubles.

Q&A: How Will California’s New 988 Mental Health Line Actually Work?

California Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored legislation to create and fund the state’s new 988 phone line for mental health emergencies, spoke with KHN about the effort and what more will be needed to create a full-fledged response network for people experiencing mental health crises.

Health Industry Wields Power in California’s High-Stakes Battle to Lower Health Care Costs

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to regulate out-of-control health care spending in California. The effort is being shaped by the very health industry players that would be regulated.

Reluctant Localities Are Being Dragged Into Court to Fix Sidewalks for People With Disabilities

Hundreds of towns, cities and states across the U.S. have ignored part of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and now it’s costing them billions of dollars to comply.

Community Clinics Shouldered Much of the Vaccine Rollout. Many Haven’t Been Paid.

Federally qualified health centers from California to Michigan are mired in a bureaucratic mess over how they should be paid under Medicaid for each dose of covid vaccine given. In California alone, clinics await reimbursement for at least 1 million shots, causing a “massive cash flow problem.”

‘Are You Going to Keep Me Safe?’ Hospital Workers Sound Alarm on Rising Violence

Health care workers already bore the brunt of workplace violence in the U.S. Now, tensions from an exhausting pandemic are spilling over into hospitals.

Needle Exchanges Are Targeted by Eco-Rooted Lawsuits. A New California Law Will Stop That.

Opponents of free needle programs in California are using environmental regulations to shut them down. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will end that strategy.