Archived California Healthcare News

When kids start school this fall, it’s a sure bet that some won’t have had their recommended vaccines because their parents have claimed exemptions from school requirements for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. Following the much publicized outbreak of measles that started in Disneyland in California in December, these exemptions have drawn increased scrutiny. That outbreak, which eventually infected 147 people in seven states, was a wake-up call for many parents, who may not have realized how contagious or serious the disease can be, and for states as well, say public health officials.

Kansas officials are reviewing a recent federal appeals court ruling that requires the state’s Medicaid program to pay in-home care workers minimum wage and overtime. Officials at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services issued a statement shortly after the court decision was announced on Friday saying they were attempting to determine its “potential impact” on the state’s Medicaid program, known as KanCare.

California may have had a wider embrace of the Affordable Care Act than many other states, but the provider options being offered to those able to purchase healthcare coverage have been quite narrow. That\'s the conclusion of researchers affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania\'s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

Asking questions is standard for collecting data to match bone marrow donors and recipients. But how to ask those questions can vary by the ethnicity of the patient. That\'s the conclusion of researchers at UC San Francisco and Stanford University, based on data gathered for a new study.

Twice already Narseary and Vernal Harris have watched a son die. The first time — Paul, at age 26 — was agonizing and frenzied, his body tethered to a machine meant to keep him alive as his incurable sickle cell disease progressed. When the same illness ravaged Solomon, at age 33, the Harrises reluctantly turned to hospice in the hope that his last days might somehow be less harrowing than his brother’s. Their expectations were low. “They take your money,” Mrs. Harris said, describing what she had heard of hospice. “Your loved ones don’t see you anymore. You just go there and die.”

for their services. Rebecca Lewis once was among those Kansans. In 2011, the McPherson woman found herself working three part-time jobs and trying to complete a college degree. As a single mom with three young boys — then ages 8, 5 and 2 — it was hard to make ends meet.

The number of uninsured California adults under the age of 65 dropped by more than 15 percent between 2013 and 2014 because of the Affordable Care Act, including California’s Medi-Cal expansion, according to data released Tuesday. “We’re seeing the biggest drop in the uninsured population in a generation,” said David Dexter, communications coordinator for the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, an advocacy group.

Governor Sam Brownback’s decision to divert federal funding away from a health insurance program is drawing sharp criticism from children’s advocates. Shannon Cotsoradis, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Kansas Action for Children, said the governor is shortchanging Kansas families who depend on the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Last year, 369 students graduated from Iowa medical schools, but at least 131 of them had to finish their training elsewhere because Iowa had only 238 residency positions available. The story was the same for at least 186 students who graduated from Missouri medical schools and 200 who studied at Tennessee schools. States such as New York, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were happy to take them—all four states took in more residents than students they trained.