"By the time I was finished, my reporting had covered not only the Valley’s marketing problem, but also federal and state laws dating back decades, executive orders, bills in Congress, visa programs, and more local, state-level and national trends than I could count."
The California legislature approved a bill Wednesday that would require the state public health department to develop public outreach programs for valley fever, an insidious respiratory disease endemic to Kern County. It next heads to the governor.
A new study finds that patients at in-network hospitals received "surprise" bills from out-of-network doctors 22% of the time. In this Q&A, author Zack Cooper explains the study and what might be done to stop such surprises.
The ACA has become a scapegoat in the media for all kinds of health care woes. "Somebody needs to be the referee on some of the cheap shots flying around on an uneven playing field," says Health News Review's Gary Schwitzer.
Legislation recently signed into law in California requires doctors to check a state database before prescribing narcotics. A key advocate behind the effort says increasing media attention was crucial in winning the bill's passage.
In an effort to reduce HIV rates in the state, Governor Brown signed into law a bill that requires those who receive an HIV test with negative results are informed about prevention options like PrEP, the one-a-day pill that's up to 99% effective in preventing HIV.
A long-deferred attempt to reform mental health care advanced out a House committee this week. Here's a look at how the bill seeks to change "the nation's broken mental health system," and some of the coverage to date.
Studies show that children who live with grandparents or other relatives typically fare better than children in foster care, but at what cost? Many say they are ill equipped and burnt out trying to be social workers, nurses and therapists for their vulnerable charges.
About 128,000 children in Georgia and an estimated 103,000 grandparents and other non-parental relatives could be affected by legislation scheduled to be introduced this week by Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-DeKalb) and others.
California leads the nation when it comes to fostering the health of undocumented immigrants, according to a recent report. Meanwhile, state legislators are considering legislation that would expand coverage to undocumented residents.
