Now That They Have Dental Insurance, California’s Low-Income Adults Must Find...
After nearly a decade of cuts and incomplete coverage, Californians enrolled in the state’s low-income dental program have full coverage this year. But whether there will actually be enough dentists...
View ArticleIn a First for California, Nurse Practitioners to Deliver Primary Care...
Nurse practitioners, who hold masters or doctorate degrees in nursing, can diagnose patients, prescribe medication and admit patients to the hospital. Yet in California, they typically work under the...
View ArticleHow Many California Children Receive Annual Checkups?
Between 2001 and 2014, the number of California teens and preteens who had gone more than a year without a health exam decreased by nearly half. The post How Many California Children Receive Annual...
View ArticleDespite National Uncertainty, Californians Signing up for Health Insurance in...
Across California, more people than ever are signing up for health insurance through Covered California, the state-run marketplace. The enrollment surge comes at a time of increased uncertainty over...
View ArticleChildren’s Health Insurance Extended, But Dreamers Left Out of Legislation
The 1.3 million California pregnant women and children covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program don’t have to worry about losing their health care. Child health advocates expressed relief but...
View ArticleAnti-Homeless Laws Crop Up in Santa Ana, in Line with a Statewide Trend
Kimberly Sandoval holds a ticket in her hand in disbelief. Her infraction: being in possession of spare bicycle parts at Santa Ana’s Civic Center, a homeless encampment of an estimated 200 people in...
View ArticleHow Many California Children Meet School Fitness Goals?
The percent of California public school children who met state fitness standards remained roughly constant between 2011 and 2015. The post How Many California Children Meet School Fitness Goals?...
View ArticleSan Diego vs. Siskiyou: Researchers Find Stark Disparities in Senior Mental...
California is not adequately serving the needs of seniors with serious mental illnesses, according to a new study. Services vary widely from county to county, the state lacks sufficient data to...
View ArticleHow Postpartum Depression Affects Mothers and Babies
As Sofia’s pediatrician, I couldn’t miss her mother’s overwhelming signs of postpartum depression. It’s a threat to the wellbeing of babies, their mothers and families. Nationwide, depression affects...
View ArticleDespite Medicare, Low-Income Seniors Feel the Pain of Rising Medical Costs
Medicare comes with high cost-sharing, a point driven home by a new study, which found that 42 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries nationwide will spend at least 20 percent of their income on...
View ArticleTeen Exposure to Air Pollution Could Reduce IQ Levels Long Term
Living in a polluted area as a pre-teen and teenager may have long-lasting, detrimental effects on a person’s ability to reason and problem solve, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of...
View ArticleWhy Has the Cost of Insulin Skyrocketed? Officials Seek Answers
Insulin prices have skyrocketed in recent years. An April 2016 Journal of the American Medical Association analysis found the cost of insulin has more than tripled from 2002 to 2013—representing an...
View ArticleHelp Arrives For Children with Diabetes in the Salinas Valley
For children in the Salinas Valley with diabetes, seeing a specialist can involve long wait times or many miles in the car. But beginning this week, UCSF Medical Center and Salinas Memorial Healthcare...
View ArticleFear Pushes More Immigrants to Avoid Seeking Medical Care
Immigrants who are undocumented or have family members in the country illegally have become more wary about seeking medical help, both at clinics and hospitals and also through government programs such...
View ArticleVictims of Domestic Violence Face Loss in Wake of North Bay Fires
Social workers at the Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse program, NEWS, in Napa are no strangers to helping people during times of extreme crisis and trauma. But the recent wildfires in the area added...
View ArticleHow California’s Housing Crisis Affects Victims of Domestic Violence
In Los Angeles, and across much of California, affordable housing is scarce and can result in domestic violence victims staying in abusive relationships simply because there is nowhere else for them to...
View ArticleHow Does a “Good Kid” Become a Drug Addict? My Recovery Story
I was in a terrible car accident shortly after my 18th birthday. I had three surgeries that were supposed to help relieve my pain. They didn’t. OxyContin, an opioid pain-relief medication, was my best...
View ArticleBudget Agreement Extends CHIP, Funding for Clinics, and Reduces Funds for...
Advocates for health and heath care see today's budget agreement as mixed news for Californians. The post Budget Agreement Extends CHIP, Funding for Clinics, and Reduces Funds for Prevention appeared...
View ArticleDoctor’s Notes: How This Year’s Influenza Became a Flu-pocalypse
The second week after school starts, kids with respiratory illnesses—everything from simple colds to asthma attacks—fill my clinic. As a pediatrician I expect this. But this year was different. Many of...
View ArticleNew Study Aims to Improve HPV Vaccine Rates Among Latino Teens
Latinos are the ethnic group most likely to develop cancers linked to the human papillomavirus and also among the least likely to be immunized against the infection. The post New Study Aims to Improve...
View Article