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Amid mental health staffing crunch, Medi-Cal patients help one another

Three people gathered in a classroom on a recent rainy afternoon listened intently as Derrick Cordero urged them to turn their negative feelings around.

19 Mar 2024

Early detection may help Kentucky tamp down its lung cancer crisis

Anthony Stumbo's heart sank after the doctor shared his mother's chest X-ray.

15 Feb 2024

Report: Primary care doctor shortage threatens New Jersey residents

A shortage of primary-care doctors endangers United States residents in general and New Jerseyans in particular, according to a report co-authored by Alfred Tallia, chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

9 Feb 2024

Delicate labor-industry deal in flux as Newsom revisits $25 minimum health wage

Gov. Gavin Newsom is revisiting California's phase-in of a nation-leading $25 minimum wage for health workers in the face of a projected $38 billion deficit, less than three months after he approved the measure.

11 Jan 2024

Integrated care may not be the silver bullet for mental health treatment, study finds

Health care systems in the United States have gradually embraced the concept that mental health should be treated on par with physical health, especially in light of increased rates of anxiety and depression during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

28 Dec 2023

Bold changes are in store for Medi-Cal in 2024, but will patients benefit?

California's safety-net health program, Medi-Cal, is on the cusp of major changes that could rectify long-standing problems and improve health care for the state's low-income population.

22 Dec 2023

Adherence to second-line drugs for Type 2 diabetes can be hit or miss, study reports

Most patients with Type 2 diabetes will end up needing to add a second-line medication after metformin -; the go-to primary drug for glucose management -; to control their blood sugar levels.

12 Dec 2023

California’s ambitious Medicaid experiment gets tripped up in implementation

Nearly two years into Gov. Gavin Newsom's $12 billion experiment to transform California’s Medicaid program into a social services provider for the state's most vulnerable residents, the institutions tasked with providing the new services aren't effectively doing so, according to a survey released Tuesday.

5 Dec 2023

‘Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid ‘unwinding’ breeds chaos in states

More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn't get cut off from Medicaid.

2 Nov 2023

Abnormal electrical activity in the brain of people with Alzheimer's leads to epileptic seizures

Alzheimer's disease causes death of neurons, and researchers hypothesize this may contribute to abnormal electrical activity in the brain that leads to epileptic seizures.

23 Oct 2023

Feds rein in use of predictive software that limits care for Medicare Advantage patients

Judith Sullivan was recovering from major surgery at a Connecticut nursing home in March when she got surprising news from her Medicare Advantage plan: It would no longer pay for her care because she was well enough to go home.

5 Oct 2023

Feds say hospitals that redistribute Medicaid money violate law

The Biden administration wants to crack down on private arrangements among some hospitals to reimburse themselves for taxes that help fund coverage for low-income people. It contends the practice violates federal law.

16 Aug 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

Moderna vaccine linked to lower risk of adverse events in older adults

While mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 have been found to be safe and effective for the general population, in-depth evidence about safety and effectiveness for older adults and individuals with chronic health conditions is more limited.

2 Aug 2023

New report highlights how telehealth has transformed the access to care across Michigan

In just three years, millions of people across Michigan's two huge peninsulas have taken advantage of their newfound ability to connect with their doctors, nurses and therapists through a computer or phone, a new report shows.

21 Jul 2023

Industry groups in California vie for new Medicaid money

California's powerful health care industry just notched a historic win: The state is going to give it an $11.1 billion infusion to improve care for millions of low-income Medicaid patients.

21 Jul 2023

Medi-Cal’s fragmented system can make moving a nightmare

When Lloyd Tennison moved from Walnut Creek to Stockton last year, he assumed his coverage under Medi-Cal, California's safety-net health insurance program, would be transferred seamlessly.

7 Jul 2023

New study highlights lack of coverage and access to mental health care

Amid heightened demand for mental health care, a new study finds that nearly two-thirds of Medicare Advantage psychiatrist networks contain less than 25% of all psychiatrists in a given service area.

5 Jul 2023

Interventions based on Choosing Wisely guidelines can reduce antibiotic overuse at safety-net hospitals

A statewide pay-for-performance intervention based on a set of guidelines called Choosing Wisely reduced rates of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions to treat acute respiratory tract infections by an average of 18 percentage points, from 43% to 25%, across two large Los Angeles safety net hospitals.

12 Jun 2023

Health care coalition jockeys over Medi-Cal spending, eyes ballot initiative

Influential health care interests are jockeying over a potential infusion of $19.4 billion into Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, while also angling for a 2024 ballot initiative to permanently lock in that funding, KFF Health News has learned.

31 May 2023