Getting A Medi-Cal Card Doesn’t Always Guarantee Health Care
The problems with managed care plans, documented in a recent state audit, stem from meteoric enrollment growth and lack of oversight, experts say.
California Bureau
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Auditor Slams California’s Oversight Of Medi-Cal Plans Used By 9 Million
Report finds state health officials had no idea whether managed care plans have sufficient doctors, while an overwhelmed ombudsman’s office failed to answer 12,500 calls a month on average.
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For Doctors Who Take A Break From Practice, Coming Back Can Be Tough
A handful of programs around the country aim to ease physicians’ reentry into clinical practice, but they can take months and cost thousands of dollars.
By Anna Gorman -
Bringing Doctors To Patients Who Need Them Most
California’s sprawling Inland Empire is making vigorous efforts to train and attract primary care doctors attuned to the needs of the fast-growing and under-served population.
By Andrew L. Wang and Heidi de Marco -
Paramedics See Roles Expand – Minus The Lights And Sirens
In Reno and around the country, community paramedics are providing more primary and preventive care and taking nonemergency patients to facilities other than ERs.
By Anna Gorman -
California Sees Housing As Significant Investment In Health Care
The state is proposing to use federal Medicaid dollars to usher ill homeless people into housing, arguing the policy saves taxpayers money.
By Anna Gorman -
Newly Insured Californians Wary Of Costs But Embracing Coverage
Though many newly insured Californians say they have trouble paying premiums, they find care easier to access than the uninsured and are more confident in their ability to pay for it, according to a survey.
By Anna Gorman -
Calming Dementia Patients Without Powerful Drugs
In California nursing homes, just over 15 percent of dementia patients are on antipsychotic drugs. That’s far more than advocates say is necessary. But that number is down from almost 22 percent just three years ago.
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Asthma Sending More Kids To California ERsÌýÌý
California children are increasingly seeking care for asthma in emergency rooms – despite medical advances and millions of dollars spent to control symptoms statewide.
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The Gray Areas Of Assisted Suicide
In bizarre, veiled conversations, some doctors vaguely hint to dying patients and their families how to hasten death. But overwhelmed families are left with profound questions and the feeling that there is no one who can answer them.
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Learning A New Health Insurance System The Hard Way
A Sacramento couple struggled to take advantage of subsidized health care coverage through Covered California in 2014 – facing one glitch after another. This year, they are more savvy about navigating the system. Ìý
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By Jenny Gold -
With Specialists In Short Supply, L.A. County Turns To e-Consulting
Facing a shortfall of doctors -- and a dearth of money -- L.A. County, Calif., is using a web-based system called eConsult that allows primary care doctors and specialists to exchange patient medical records before sending them for referral appointments.
By Anna Gorman -
How One Hospital Brought Its C-Sections Down In A Hurry
Faced with the possible loss of an important insurer, a large Orange County, Calif., hospital rapidly reduced excessive cesarean section rates in part by sharing each physician’s rate with everyone in the obstetrics department.
By Anna Gorman -
A Matter Of Faith And Trust: Why African-Americans Don’t Use Hospice
Even as end-of-life planning gains favor with more Americans, African-Americans, research shows, remain veryÌýskeptical of options like hospice and advance directives. The result can mean more aggressive, painful care at the end of life that prolongs suffering.
By Sarah Varney -
California High Court To Consider Limits on Regulators’ Access to Prescription Database
A Burbank doctor, with the support of the AMA, says the Medical Board of California violated his patients’ privacy by checking his prescribing practices in a state database without a court order. The board says it needs that access to protect patients from harm.
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Americans Are Drinking More Heavily, Especially Women
The first study to track drinking patterns at the county level finds that women are driving big increases in heavy drinking.
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When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide
A teen from a Taiwanese immigrant family struggles with depression as her mother worries and tries to understand. Asian American families like this one often have trouble seeking and finding appropriate treatment.
By Anna Gorman -
KHN Video: Momentary Healing
Wynne Lee, 17, struggled with depression and cultural expectations for several years. The teen from Diamond Bar, California, is like many kids from Asian American families who often have trouble finding appropriate treatment.
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So You Have Dense Breasts. Now What?
Dense breasts make mammograms harder to read. As more states pass laws requiring that women be told of the risks, debate is growing about whether such warnings are helpful -- or even harmful.
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Tougher Vaccine Exemption Bill In Calif. Clears First Hurdle
The state Senate health committee passed the bill after a debate that drew several hundred protesters to Sacramento.