KHN

Food insecurity soared during the pandemic, including among unauthorized immigrants, who are not eligible for federally funded food stamps. California’s Democratic lawmakers want to expand the benefit to that population, but opponents cite the massive ongoing cost to the state.

Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal “transparency” rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.

The potential benefits of Aduhelm are small, its effectiveness is not certain, and even the FDA Thursday shifted its guidance on who should get the drug. But physicians are dealing with an onslaught of interest from patients and their families, and figuring out which patients are best positioned to be helped by the drug will be difficult.

The state will be the first to offer comprehensive counseling services to parents during pediatric visits as part of Medicaid.

Mesa County is a breeding ground for the covid-19 delta variant, but few would guess with tens of thousands of people flocking to the state’s largest country music festival.

The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.

Aduhelm, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month despite questions about its efficacy, could be prescribed to at least 1 million patients a year, for a price tag of about $56 billion. Experts suggest there might be better ways to spend that money.

A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it’s hard to find and understand.

Experts say rural communities must find new models to keep emergency services afloat as more 911 calls go unanswered.

Veteran health journalist Marshall Allen has been exposing health care grifters for years. Now he’s written a book about how to fight them. Host Dan Weissmann spoke with Allen about some of the best tips from “Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.”

The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, “Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.”

The approach, known as contingency management, has helped thousands of veterans kick the methedrine habit, but a federal government ruling has limited its use. California hopes to challenge that and make the treatment a Medi-Cal benefit.

After years of unstable funding, California’s 2022-23 budget will include a dramatic new investment in public health. Insiders say a powerhouse lobbying campaign made all the difference.

Black and Hispanic students have lost up to 12 months of learning, which could lead to lower incomes and shorter, sicker lives.

As more independently owned community pharmacies close, a Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways of getting prescription medicines delivered to those who can’t travel the long distance to the closest pharmacy. But even those stopgap measures don’t always work.

California’s vaccination rates have stagnated, particularly in Black and Latino inner-city neighborhoods and in rural towns. County health officials, who say trust is their most important commodity, need more money for one-on-one interactions with holdouts, but the state has instead largely funneled money to advertising firms and tech companies.