Health Insurance and Costs

Some call it Medicare-for-all or single-payer health insurance, but the concept is the same: a system that provides everyone with health care regardless of their ability to pay.

Rebecca Adams reported this story with support from the Fund for Journalism on Child Well-Being, a program of the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism.

New research from RAND finds LA's program to get people off the street and into permanent, supportive housing led to fewer heath visits and a net savings for the county.

"The reality is that many medical students, residents and trainee physicians are illiterate in the basics of public health and health policy," says Dr. Rusha Modi.

This story was produced with the USC Center For Health Journalism's National Fellowship and Kaiser Health News.

 On Jan. 1, Californians in the state's Medicaid dental program will once again have full dental coverage. But the program's low rates mean many dentists won't see them.

The stopgap bill approved by Congress this week will extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program for a few more months. That's far from what the program's supporters were hoping for.

The use of crowdfunding to cover medical costs has grown rapidly in recent years. The trend provides insights into gaps in health coverage, but also poses some problems health reporters should keep in mind.

A reporter set out to do a set of stories on the difficulties Merced County residents already faced in accessing care. Then, eight health clinics serving Medicaid patients in the county closed.

The closure was a big blow for Warren County, an area of the state considered a primary care desert, where doctors are few and patients are often forced to go without health care.