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Attitudes about a debunked link between measles vaccines and autism havenāt budged that much. But thereās a sharp partisan divide over whether the vaccine is safe.
Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than whatās required. Budget pressures may force lawmakers to cut benefits that have led to a historic low in the uninsured rate.
In California, Black women are at least three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. Santa Clara County initiatives aimed at reducing racial disparities work but depend on federal dollars ā money that might not flow amid budget cuts and a push to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
California has unilaterally halted a court-ordered medical parole program. Instead, itās sending its most incapacitated prisoners back to state lockups or releasing them early. The change is drawing protests from attorneys representing prisoners and the author of the medical parole law, who argue prisonersā health may be compromised.
Republicans are pushing to implement requirements that Medicaid recipients work in order to obtain or retain coverage. Some states try to help enrollees find jobs. But states lack the data to show whether theyāre effective.
Colorado was long considered a haven for gender-affirming care. But under this Trump administration, hospitals in the state have limited the treatments available for people under 19. Some services have been restored, but trans youth and their families say the state isnāt the rock they thought it was.
Amid a youth mental health crisis and a shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds, residents of a St. Louis suburb opposed a plan to build a 77-bed pediatric mental health hospital. Resistance to such facilities has occurred in other communities as misconceptions about mental health spur fear.
Preventing and detecting bird flu infections among farmworkers is a key defense against a potential pandemic. Immigration raids and threats have undermined these efforts, researchers say.
Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.
Amid the Los Angeles wildfires, California's U.S. senators cosponsored legislation that would provide support to first responders who develop or die from service-related cancers. But those involved with similar efforts say the road to implementation is rough and paved with long waits, restrictive eligibility requirements, and funding issues.
As the fires burned in Los Angeles, scientists and local air regulators deployed monitors to measure the levels of heavy metals, carcinogens, and other toxic substances released into the air when homes, buildings, and cars burned. They hope their efforts will inform ongoing cleanup efforts and protect the public in future fires.
Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administrationās anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
As House Republicans mull a massive $880 billion cut from federal programs likely including Medicaid, constituents, disability advocates, and health care providers are joining forces to lobby GOP members in California ā including those who represent rural, deeply conservative pockets that stand to lose the most.
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The Trump administration is moving to end the āHousing Firstā approach despite warnings from providers and homelessness experts that the shift wonāt work. But with homelessness rising, President Donald Trump could find allies in blue cities and states as the public clamors for streets to be cleaned up.
The anti-fluoride movement has more momentum than ever. In rural counties with few dentists, tooth decay could surge to levels that have not been seen in decades, experts warn.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
A federal judge has named a receiver to run Californiaās troubled prison mental health system. Colette Peters, a reformist with a rocky tenure as director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, will have four months to develop a plan to adequately care for tens of thousands of prisoners.
Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the Supreme Courtās 2023 ban on affirmative action. Education and health experts worry the Trump administrationās anti-DEI measures will only worsen the situation, even in states like California that have navigated bans on race-conscious admissions for years.
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