The two largest health care providers in southern Santa Barbara County have announced plans to merge. How would such a move impact the cost, quality and access to care for the region's residents? Hospital mergers elsewhere have resulted in prices — but not necessarily quality — going up.
What's driving some residents in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley to seek out health care in Mexico? It turns out it's not just a question of money or cultural familiarity, as Barrett Newkirk reports.
Nearly 4 million Californians lack health insurance coverage, and nearly three out of five uninsured residents are Latino or Hispanic. Is the state and its health exchange, Covered California, doing enough to get Latinos insured?
Obamacare enabled a wave of residents in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley to get health insurance, but finding doctors has been a recurring challenge for many. Is there any relief on the horizon?
On health care, the talk from presidential candidates has been way too sketchy and uninformative, argues contributing editor Trudy Lieberman. Policy details remain vague, and no one has gotten to the heart of what ails the system.
With the third open enrollment period closing last Sunday and predictions suggesting fewer sign-ups than expected, it’s time to be clear about why it’s so difficult to get the remaining holdouts insured.
In the past couple of years, the Affordable Care Act has provided thousands of residents at Wyandotte County with health insurance, creating a surge in demand for health care in a county that had already been designated a Health Professional Shortage Area by the federal government.
In pediatric practices across Florida, doctors are struggling to serve patients in the face of paltry reimbursement rates and more intense demands from Medicaid insurance companies.
Nevada is serving a greater number of mentally ill children in recent years. “This is an epidemic,” said Dr. Jay Fisher. Decades ago, he said, physicians looked to vaccines to preventing epidemics. “This is going to be much more difficult to solve. It’s a 12-headed beast.”
“Out-of-network” means “bad idea.” Right? Yet many patients do willingly choose out-of-network doctors for medical care, whether it's for a complex surgery or for managing their diabetes. Going out-of-network isn't for everyone, but it can have benefits for those who make a fully informed choice.
