As Politics Infects Public Health, Private Companies Profit
Localities in California and Colorado are contracting with private companies to create their own health departments, spurred by a disregard for regional covid safety mandates.
California Bureau
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
841-860 of 1,970 results
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Exits by Black and Hispanic Teachers Pose a New Threat to Covid-Era Education
Schools that serve poor and disadvantaged kids have taken a series of hits during the pandemic. Now, teachers of color are leaving the profession at higher rates than are white teachers.
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鈥楽omebody Is Gonna Die鈥: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions
Problems with California鈥檚 new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they鈥檙e working on fixes.
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Ready for Another Pandemic Malady? It鈥檚 Called 鈥楧ecision Fatigue鈥
Pandemic living has come with a barrage of daily choices that have many of us complaining of a sort of brain freeze. That exhaustion is real, and it鈥檚 got a name: 鈥渄ecision fatigue.鈥
By Jenny Gold -
A Disabled Activist Speaks Out About Feeling 鈥楧isposable鈥
Alice Wong, a writer and organizer in San Francisco, says the isolation and loss of the pandemic have shown society what it鈥檚 like to be disabled.
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California Inks Sweetheart Deal With Kaiser Permanente, Jeopardizing Medicaid Reforms
The backroom deal with politically connected Kaiser Permanente, which infuriated other Medi-Cal health plans, allows the health care giant to continue selecting the enrollees it wants.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Paging the HHS Secretary
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health 鈥減arity laws鈥 that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
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The Advice to Vaccinate and Test Isn’t Much Help to Parents With Kids Under 5
Many parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. Some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on even as omicron continues to sweep through parts of the country.
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Colleges Struggle to Recruit Therapists for Students in Crisis
The need for mental health services on campus, which was already rising, has skyrocketed during the pandemic, with many students undergoing grave psychological crises. Colleges say they often lack the means to offer competitive salaries to therapists.
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In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, but So Is the Isolation
Omicron infections are surging in residential care facilities, causing massive sickouts among staff members and an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. The latest visitor restrictions and testing requirements are also compounding the isolation that residents have suffered for almost two years.
By Linda Marsa -
Listen: Generous Deals, and a Few Unwanted Surprises, at Covered California
Southern California correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson answers questions about the health coverage deals available on California鈥檚 Affordable Care Act marketplace during Radio Biling眉e鈥檚 news program 鈥淟铆nea Abierta.鈥
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What the Federal 鈥楴o Surprises Act鈥 Means in California
The new federal law will provide protection against surprise medical bills for between 6 million and 7 million Californians who are not covered under state law.
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Families Complain as States Require Covid Testing for Nursing Home Visits
Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.
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Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-Up Covid Testing Sites 鈥 And Warn Patients to Beware
High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put people鈥檚 personal data, their health or wallets at risk.
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With No End in Sight to Pandemic Life, Parents Find Disruption Is the New Normal
Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parents鈥 nerves.
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Clinics Say State鈥檚 New Medicaid Drug Program Will Force Them to Cut Services
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
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California Ballot Will Be Heavy on Health Care
In the Nov. 8 general election, California voters will consider overturning the state鈥檚 flavored tobacco ban and hiking medical malpractice awards. Other proposals to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, target dialysis clinics and boost public health funding could also be on the ballot, along with a plan to limit business and school closures during public health emergencies.
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With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
By Rachel Bluth -
Laws Shield Hospitals From Families Who Believe Loved Ones Contracted Covid as Patients
Families who believe their loved ones contracted covid-19 while hospitalized are finding they have little recourse following a wave of liability shield legislation pushed by business interests.
By Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett -
As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short
A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didn鈥檛 have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.
By Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett