A proposal from a pair of Southern California lawmakers to establish a single-payer model went nowhere this year. But the political climate in deep-blue California is changing, with some high-profile California politicians now backing the effort.
Health Insurance and Costs
In the wake of recent reports that the 2020 Census is facing a funding shortfall, advocates worry about the consequences of undercounting vulnerable populations.
Harvey Barkin wrote this story while participating in the USC Center for Health Journalism‘s California Fellowship.
Other stories in the series include:
Full-scope Medi-Cal granted to undocumented children below 19 years old but for how long?
Isabella's story
Many Floridians have jobs but can't afford health insurance or to pay out-of-pocket for health care. For those patients, the more than 100 free and charitable clinics in Florida are often their only option for health care.
The U.S. spends more than any other country for health care. And economic ideals that should push costs down aren't actually working in our country's system.
The nursing home industry is a powerful force that pushes back against the great work reporters have done in exposing elder abuse. Plus, we as a country are not very interested in old people except as a part of a commercial transaction.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), community clinics have played an important role providing care for newly insured Americans. Funding for programs that enable community clinics to meet patient's needs will expire on September 30th, if Congress doesn’t act.
Minnesota officials knew they would exhaust Children’s Health Insurance Program money by the end of this year and likely be out of money for coverage of low-income children and pregnant women by the end of September. And Congress will probably not meet a deadline to help.
Focusing on how to finance expanded coverage is often compared to moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic: the whole health care enterprise is sinking under the weight of its high costs, and no amount of shifting who pays how much will keep us all from going under.