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Nurses are telling lawmakers that there are not enough of them working in hospitals and that it risks patients’ lives. California and Oregon legally limit the number of patients under a nurse’s care. Other states trying to do the same were blocked by the hospital industry. Now patients’ relatives are joining the fight.
Jian Zhang, an immigrant from China with a doctorate in nursing, leads the 88-bed Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. The facility faces financial constraints like other independent hospitals, but its strong community support and partnerships have helped it weather tough times.
A medical industry challenge to a $25 minimum wage ordinance in one Southern California city suggests health workers statewide could face layoffs and reductions in hours and benefits under a state law set to begin phasing in in June. Some experts are skeptical, however, that it will have such effects.
American Advanced Management, a steadily growing operator of small hospitals, is expected to get the green light from a bankruptcy court next week to take over the shuttered Madera Community Hospital. Some community groups worry about the company’s track record.
With an end-of-year deadline and a presidential election approaching, payment rules that fueled rapid expansion of telehealth in the United States face a last-minute congressional decision.
ϳԹ News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
People in their prime working years living in rural America are 43% more likely to die of natural causes, like diseases, than their urban counterparts, a disparity that grew rapidly in recent decades, according to a new federal report.
In California, assaulting paramedics or other emergency medical workers in the field carries stiffer fines and jail time than assaulting emergency room staffers. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would standardize the penalties.
State institutions and community hospitals have closed inpatient mental health units, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Now, for-profit companies are opening psychiatric hospitals to fill the void.
Hospitals are increasingly stretching a velvet rope, offering “concierge service” to an affluent clientele. Critics say the practice exacerbates primary care shortages.
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
Disputes between hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans are leading to entire hospital systems suddenly leaving insurance networks. Patients are left stuck in the middle, choosing between their doctors and their insurance plan. There’s a way out.
The FDA and some oncologists have resisted efforts to require a quick, cheap gene test that could prevent thousands of deaths from a bad reaction to a common cancer drug.
There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn’t medically necessary.
Ballad Health was granted the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
ϳԹ News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
One of the most unfair aspects of medical insurance is this: Patients can change insurance only during end-of-year enrollment periods or at the time of “qualifying life events.” But insurers’ contracts with doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies can change abruptly at any time.
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