Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
Psychiatrist Stays Close To Home And True To Her Childhood Promise
Yamanda Edwards is the only psychiatrist at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, caring for residents in South Los Angeles, a community with a shortage of mental health care.
Upsurge Of Suburban Poor Discover Health Care’s Nowhere Land
More low-income people now live in suburbs than in cities or rural areas, putting a strain on local health services. Suburbs, which traditionally have had fewer resources or infrastructure, are scrambling to catch up.
Community Health Centers Caught In ‘Washington’s Political Dysfunction’
The centers, which serve 27 million people, get about 20 percent of their funding from the federal government. But that revenue is slated to end on March 31.
Stalled Health Programs Await A Green Light On The Hill
With another piece of must-pass legislation set to move through Congress, there’s a push to attach provisions to keep afloat a number of health-related programs for which funding or specific federal direction has expired.
How The Shutdown Might Affect Your Health
For some federal health programs, a shuttered government means business as usual. But the congressional impasse over funding will hit others hard.
Despite Prod By ACA, Tax-Exempt Hospitals Slow To Expand Community Benefits
The Affordable Care Act mandated that hospitals exempt from taxes work to provide health benefits to the community. But a study finds that has been slow to get off the ground.
Hospitals Find Asthma Hot Spots More Profitable To Neglect Than Fix
Months of reporting and rich hospital data portray life in the worst asthma hot spot in one of the worst asthma cities: Baltimore. The medical system knows how to help. But there’s no money in it.
Attack On Asthma: Scrubbing Homes Of Allergens May Tame Disease And Its Costs
A pilot program to asthma-proof homes in Baltimore shows that even without intensive professional cleaning services, families can learn to substantially reduce home allergens on their own.
Congress’ Cold Shoulder Sends Shivers Through Community Health Centers
The clinics, which serve many poor people, are tightening spending in case Congress doesn’t approve new funding for them before the government’s 2018 fiscal year starts Sunday.
Postcard From Capitol Hill: Lawmakers Put Women’s Health Care In Its Place
Where women prefer to go for health care becomes a proxy for the abortion debate.
Trump’s Vow To Squeeze ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Could Play Havoc With Health Programs
Local health officials are bracing for the potential impact of a Trump administration policy that would stop federal funding to jurisdictions that don’t enforce federal immigration laws.
Obamacare Pushed Nonprofit Hospitals To Do Good Beyond Their Walls. Now What?
A provision in the 2010 health law required these hospitals to justify their tax exemption by demonstrating involvement in community health. Repeal, replace or repair could stall that momentum.
Threat Of Obamacare Repeal Leaves Community Health Centers In Limbo
These clinics have long provided health care to low-income patients and enjoyed expansion under the Affordable Care Act. With repeal looming, the centers’ doctors worry about what’s next.
From Its Counterculture Roots, Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Morphs Into Health Care Conglomerate
Since it opened 50 years ago, the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic has been a refuge for everyone from flower children to famous rock stars to Vietnam War veterans returning home addicted to heroin.
California’s Community Clinics, Big ACA Beneficiaries, Worry About Their Future
A flow of Medi-Cal expansion dollars — and patients — has fueled significant growth, making clinics in California one of the linchpins of primary care under Obamacare.
Obamacare Boosted Community Health Centers’ Reach. Now What?
Two studies quantify gains made as a result of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and fuel concerns about how GOP plans to repeal and replace it might undermine these advances.
Offering Syringes Along With Prayers, Churches Help IV Drug Users
Some churches and other faith-based organizations are offering clean syringes to IV drug users, while still others are voicing their support for comprehensive treatment, testing and education programs that also help stem transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
In Texas, Students Help Provide Health Care for Refugees
Students and faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio have teamed up to operate one of the only student-run refugee clinics in the country.
Insurers, Hospitals Clash Over Help Paying Obamacare Premiums
Insurers charge that hospitals and other health providers are using third-party groups to help some low-income patients buy marketplace plans, which bring higher reimbursement rates.
An Idea Borrowed From South Africa: Ordinary Citizens Fill Gaps In Health Care
A New York group seeks to show that a health coach who is also a neighbor can help patients and save money.
