Category: Kaiser Health News

California’s Expanded Health Coverage for Immigrants Collides With Medicaid Reviews

A state policy to extend Medi-Cal to qualified Californians without legal residency is running up against a federal requirement to resume eligibility checks. The redetermination process is causing many Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, to be disenrolled.

Move to Protect California’s Indoor Workers From Heat Upended by Cost Questions

A years-long process that would have created heat standards for California workers in warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other indoor job sites catapulted into chaos Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration pulled its support. Regulators, saying they felt “blindsided,” approved the regulation anyway. It’s unclear what happens next.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: The ACA Turns 14

Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’

Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.

Rapid Rise in Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest

With U.S. syphilis rates climbing to the worst level in seven decades, public health experts and the federal Indian Health Service are scrambling to detect and treat the disease in Native American communities, where babies are infected at a higher rate than in any other demographic.

Watch: Many Americans Are Unaware of HIV Prevention Medication

Some Americans mistakenly believe medication to prevent HIV transmission through sex is just for certain groups such as gay men, but anyone who’s at risk for contracting HIV through sex could benefit.

Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.

The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children’s hospitals in Northern California.

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.

Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission

Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.

How National Political Ambition Could Fuel, or Fail, Initiatives to Protect Abortion Rights in States

As money flows to abortion rights initiatives in states, some donors focus on where anger over the “Dobbs” ruling could propel voter turnout and spur Democratic victories up and down the ballot, including in key Senate races and the White House.