Tag: health news

Newsom and Democratic Lawmakers at Odds Over Billions in Health Care Funds

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino

By Angela Hart

SACRAMENTO — When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office four years ago, the Democrat went after Republicans on the national stage as they sought to gut the Affordable Care Act. Key to his ambitious health care agenda: Reinstating the fine on Californians who don’t have health coverage, which had been eliminated at the federal level.

It was a tough sell for a new governor, and Newsom needed strong allies among state Democratic leaders, who at the time, in 2019, voiced concern about essentially levying a new tax on Californians unable to afford the rising cost of health care. Democrats, who, then as now, controlled the state legislature, ultimately backed Newsom in exchange for a promise: The state would levy the fine but use that money to provide financial assistance to offset out-of-pocket costs for Californians purchasing health insurance on the state exchange, Covered California.

But Newsom,

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Abortion bans are driving off doctors and closing clinics, putting basic health care at risk

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino

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Maternal Health

A doctor uses a hand-held Doppler probe on a pregnant woman to measure the heartbeat of the fetus on Dec. 17, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report released Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.  




WASHINGTON — The rush in conservative states to ban abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women living in those states.

Doctors are showing — through their words and actions — that they are reluctant to practice in places where making the best decision for a patient could result in

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A national safety board made transportation safer and could do the same for health care, say advocates

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino



KFF Health News
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People concerned about the safety of patients often compare health care to aviation. Why, they ask, can’t hospitals learn from medical errors the way airlines learn from plane crashes?

That’s the rationale behind calls to create a “National Patient Safety Board,” an independent federal agency that would be loosely modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, which is credited with increasing the safety of skies, railways, and highways by investigating why accidents occur and recommending steps to avoid future mishaps.

But as worker shortages strain the U.S. health care system, heightening concerns about unsafe care, one proposal to create such a board has some patient safety advocates fearing that it wouldn’t provide the transparency and accountability they believe is necessary to drive improvement. One major reason: the power of the hospital industry.

Two measures are underway to create a safety board: A bill filed in

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