Is health insurance ripe for disruption by newer, tech-savvy market players? Oscar, a newcomer to the California health insurance exchange, certainly hopes so, and has the market valuation to back it up. But will the company's growth and innovation largely be limited to tech-savvy millennials?
Healthcare Systems & Policy
Health rankings published in recent years have made it clear that there’s a lot of work to do in Wyandotte County, Kansas, which has some of the worst health outcomes in the state, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
A troubled California database that allows doctors to check which patients are already receiving potentially addictive prescriptions is currently being relaunched. But one doctor argues that the state needs to do far more to stem prescription drug deaths than simply revamp CURES.
There has been a lot of rhetoric about the value of community health workers, but such programs don't always work as well as they could. Some basic guidelines could go a long way toward ensuring such workers contribute to the health of patients, particularly those with chronic diseases.
"As a journalist and as a person, there’s something therapeutic about being entrusted with someone’s personal rock bottom, and being a vessel for their story," writes journalist Jazelle Hunt. "There’s something therapeutic and powerful about standing with someone in his or her pain."
Despite the numbers of Floridians stranded in a health policy no man’s land – earning too much for Medicaid but not enough for subsidies – the “coverage gap” was getting little attention from policymakers and media. A reporter at the Miami Herald set out to change that, by telling their stories.
The headlines have recently been dominated by talk of health insurers merging, but it's really part of a broader consolidation trend taking place in health care. Health policy expert Paul Ginsburg explains what's at stake when hospitals and physician groups combine, and how California is different.
This series, originally published by the Arizona Republic, was produced by the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism and the National Health Journalism Fellowship, programs of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism. Other pieces in this series include:...
When LA Times reporter Soumya Karlamangla started looking into health care policies affecting immigrants, she had no idea how fast the California policy landscape was about to change. Reflecting on her reporting journey over the past year, Karlamangla offers key tips for staying ahead of the story.
In recent years, the idea that journalists should focus on building the future of news with communities — not just for them — has gained traction. Josh Stearns profiles the work of Jeremy Hay, who has embraced this community-first approach with a local news service in East Palo Alto.