What the Federal āNo Surprises Actā Means in California
The new federal law will provide protection against surprise medical bills for between 6 million and 7 million Californians who are not covered under state law.
California Bureau
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
861-880 of 1,979 results
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Families Complain as States Require Covid Testing for Nursing Home Visits
Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.
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Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-Up Covid Testing Sites ā And Warn Patients to Beware
High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put peopleās personal data, their health or wallets at risk.
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With No End in Sight to Pandemic Life, Parents Find Disruption Is the New Normal
Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parentsā nerves.
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Clinics Say Stateās New Medicaid Drug Program Will Force Them to Cut Services
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
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California Ballot Will Be Heavy on Health Care
In the Nov. 8 general election, California voters will consider overturning the stateās flavored tobacco ban and hiking medical malpractice awards. Other proposals to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, target dialysis clinics and boost public health funding could also be on the ballot, along with a plan to limit business and school closures during public health emergencies.
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With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
By Rachel Bluth -
Laws Shield Hospitals From Families Who Believe Loved Ones Contracted Covid as Patients
Families who believe their loved ones contracted covid-19 while hospitalized are finding they have little recourse following a wave of liability shield legislation pushed by business interests.
By Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett -
As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short
A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didnāt have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.
By Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett -
Layers of Subcontracted Services Confuse and Frustrate Medi-Cal Patients
Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.
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Covered Californiaās Insurance Deals Range From āNo-Brainerā to Sticker Shock
Families of four with incomes of less than about $40,000 a year can pay no premiums and have low deductibles. For some others, health insurance in 2022 will cost more than in 2021 ā in some cases, significantly more.
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Vaccine Promoters Struggle to Get People Boosted in Californiaās Fields
Stressed vaccine communicators battle anti-vaccine propaganda while seeking to persuade Latino farmworkers to get covid boosters.
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Nurses in Crisis Over Covid Dig In for Better Work Conditions
In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here's what nurses donāt want: āappreciation that is lip service,ā āmarketing campaignsā and āshiny new buildings.ā And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health careās essential workers.
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Mattresses and Mold Removal: Medi-Cal to Offer Unconventional Treatments to Asthma Patients
In January, Californiaās Medicaid program will begin offering nontraditional services āsuch as ridding homes of roaches, replacing mattresses and installing air purifiers ā to some low-income asthma patients. But the rollout could be chaotic, with insurance companies struggling to identify groups that can deliver the services.
By Angela Hart -
Perspective
How LA, Calling the Shots on School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead the Way on Covid Rules
In the middle of a measles outbreak in 1977, the Los Angeles school system required students to be inoculated or stay out of class. Other school systems followed the practice. Will it work again now that the county is insisting that teens have their shots against covid?
By Arthur Allen -
Q&A
Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia
The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her motherās dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.
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When the Surges Just Keep Coming: A View From the Covid Vortex
Fresno County, one of Californiaās persistent covid-19 hot spots, is experiencing an autumn surge that once again has overwhelmed area hospitals. KHN spoke with Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra about leading the charge in a region where many people remain anti-mask and vaccine-wary.
By Jenny Gold -
New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process
Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctorās assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.
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With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work
National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.
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āI Can Go Anywhereā: How Service Dogs Help Veterans With PTSD
The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act means more veterans with symptoms of traumatic stress can get specially trained service dogs.