The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
1,361-1,380 of 1,970 results
Millions of Californians are vulnerable to hefty surprise medical bills from their trips to the emergency room. Now, state lawmakers are considering a measure to cap how much out-of-network hospitals can charge privately insured patients for emergency care, which could serve as a model for other states.
The University of California’s flagship San Francisco hospital system cut off negotiations with the Catholic-run health care system in the face of heated opposition from UCSF faculty and staff.
Buprenorphine is becoming an increasingly popular choice among doctors in California for treating opioid addiction. Use of methadone, while still more common, has not gained ground in recent years.
A former farmworker, now a doctor, runs two clinics in California’s Central Valley providing care — often free of charge — for migrants who don’t have money and are deeply worried about the federal government’s hard-line stance on immigration.
Crowded emergency rooms are likely to blame. In 2017, the median ER wait time for patients before admission as inpatients to California hospitals was 336 minutes — or more than 5½ hours.
California’s governor Friday scuttled his plan to siphon public health money from four counties to help provide health coverage for unauthorized immigrants ages 19 through 25.
A large public hospital in Los Angeles gets over 1,000 unidentified patients a year. Most are quickly identified, but some require considerable gumshoe work — a task that can be complicated by medical privacy laws.
California officials announced a ban on chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that has been linked to lower IQs, lower birth weights and other developmental issues in children, even as the federal government fights to protect it.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to provide health coverage to unauthorized immigrants ages 19 to 25 would siphon money that four counties currently use for public health efforts such as battling contagious diseases.
In the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement says meth is the bigger threat. It's also a more difficult addiction to treat.
A growing mental health crisis among children is exacerbated by a national shortage of child psychiatrists and therapists. It’s either difficult to get, or to afford, an appointment for your child. Here’s some advice that might help.
Lack of access means that people with physical and cognitive disabilities have a heavier burden of dental disease.
Doctors at the University of California’s flagship San Francisco hospital are sharply divided over a proposal to join forces with a Catholic-run system that restricts care on the basis of religious doctrine — part of a broader public debate as Catholic hospitals expand their reach.
The pesticide chlorpyrifos has been linked to developmental problems in children. Some state and federal lawmakers want the chemical banned, but federal regulators are fighting to keep it on the market.
Deaths of homeless people in Los Angeles County have jumped 76% in the past five years, outpacing the growth of the homeless population, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of the coroner’s data. Experts say drug and alcohol abuse are significant factors.
Potentially deadly fatty liver disease, linked to overconsumption of sugar in drinks and food, often starts in childhood. The goal: Get children to change their habits.
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center houses nearly 2,000 people in California. Federal, state and watchdog reviews say the Florida-based firm that runs the facility fails to provide adequate health care.
Hospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois hope that regional cooperation — and a special soap — will help them gain the upper hand against deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Scientists say drought can spur transmission of the disease and that wetter winters since 2015 have helped reduce the number of infections in California. In the long term, however, climate change could mean more drought — and more infections.
The soda industry spent $11.8 million to influence policy statewide in 2017 and 2018. As politicians once again consider bills that would tax and label sugary drinks, more big money is expected to flow.
© 2026 51ÊÓƵ