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California fails to adequately help blind and deaf prisoners, US judge rules

Thirty years after prisoners with disabilities sued the state of California and 25 years after a federal court first ordered accommodations, a judge found that state prison and parole officials still are not doing enough to help deaf and blind prisoners — in part because they are not using readily available technology such as video recordings and laptop computers.

12 Apr 2024

Attacks on emergency room workers prompt debate over tougher penalties

Patients hurl verbal abuse at Michelle Ravera every day in the emergency room. Physical violence is less common, she said, but has become a growing threat.

3 Apr 2024

Secret contract aims to upend landmark California prison litigation

California commissioned an exhaustive study of whether its prisons are providing sufficient mental health care, an effort officials said they could use to try to end a 34-year-old federal lawsuit over how the state treats inmates with mental illness.

13 Mar 2024

California Gov. Newsom wants voters to approve billions more to help the homeless. Will it help?

California voters will decide March 5 whether to pump billions more dollars into combating the nation's worst homelessness crisis, an investment Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom argues will finally provide the housing and treatment so badly needed by tens of thousands of homeless people.

26 Feb 2024

In California, faceoff between major insurer and health system shows hazards of consolidation

For weeks, more than half a million Anthem Blue Cross enrollees who receive health care from the University of California were held in suspense.

19 Feb 2024

Study discovers a direct connection between the brain and its surrounding environment

In a recent study of the brain's waste drainage system, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, collaborating with investigators at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of the National Institute of Health (NIH), discovered a direct connection between the brain and its tough protective covering, the dura mater.

8 Feb 2024

New tool identifies potential breast tumors with 91% accuracy

A group of researchers, led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has developed a computer program to identify potential tumors in the human breast, making use of the observation that malignant breast tumors distribute heat differently to healthy breast tissue.

5 Feb 2024

A record number of Californians are visiting emergency rooms for dog bites

Those pandemic puppies are growing up to be a public health concern.

26 Jan 2024

Study reveals how urban life shapes hidden arthropod diversity

Insects and spiders often receive little attention from people, except when we're swatting them away.

12 Jan 2024

Study suggests optimal blood pressure targets for Asian adults with type 2 diabetes

Keeping blood pressure in check could save lives among Asian adults with type 2 diabetes, suggests a sizable new study of more than 80,000 patients in Singapore. But how low should it go?

16 Nov 2023

Dads drive growth in California’s paid family leave program

In a sign of growing domestic equality, more new dads are claiming paid family leave to bond with their babies and support their partners during the first weeks of parenthood.

30 Oct 2023

California moves ahead of the FDA in banning common candy additives

Halloween candy could be in for a California makeover.

20 Oct 2023

Could a genetic biomarker predict your risk for severe food allergies?

Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago have identified a genetic biomarker, α-tryptase, that may predict the severity of food allergy reactions. This discovery opens the door for new treatment strategies and offers a way to distinguish patients at risk for severe reactions.

21 Sep 2023

As more patients email doctors, health systems start charging fees

Meg Bakewell, who has cancer and cancer-related heart disease, sometimes emails her primary care physician, oncologist, and cardiologist asking them for medical advice when she experiences urgent symptoms such as pain or shortness of breath.

14 Sep 2023

Promising better, cheaper care, Kaiser Permanente’s national expansion faces wide skepticism

As regulators review Kaiser Permanente's proposed acquisition of a respected health system based in Pennsylvania, health care experts are still puzzling over how the surprise deal, announced in April, could fulfill the managed care giant's promise of improving care and reducing costs for patients, including in its home state of California.

15 Aug 2023

Bankrupt California hospital receives lifeline from Adventist, report says

Bankrupt Madera Community Hospital has received a last-minute lifeline from the hospital chain Adventist Health, which reached a preliminary agreement to take over the shuttered hospital and save it from liquidation, The Fresno Bee reported July 27.

27 Jul 2023

Covered California to cut patient costs after Democratic lawmakers win funding from Gov. Newsom

Weeks after Democratic lawmakers forced Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on a four-year-old pledge to use tax penalty proceeds from fining the uninsured to increase health insurance subsidies for low- and middle-income Californians, Covered California officials announced they will funnel that money into reducing out-of-pocket spending for many enrollees struggling with the cost of care.