Health
How will Trump change health care? California braces for fights over insurance and abortion
California laws governing health insurance, access to abortion and health care for undocumented immigrants could be contested during a second Trump administration.
Covered California starts offering health care to DACA immigrants. Will Trump’s win deter them?
California immigrants with DACA status are newly eligible to buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Donald Trump's election creates uncertainty about the future of the program.
Prominent Bay Area legislator says outdated House vacancy rules are a national security threat
“If you really wanted to decapitate democratic government, the way to do it would be to wipe out the House of Representatives.”
These Bay Area counties will launch mental health ‘CARE’ courts. Can they help solve homelessness?
After a slow start in some counties, more courts are opening statewide.
In divide on women’s health care, a consensus on menopause
Despite deep partisan divides on issues like abortion and contraceptive access, lawmakers from both parties appear to have forged a cautious consensus on menopause.
California bird flu outbreak warrants a broader look at the risky ways we produce food
As California confronts a bird flu outbreak, it is also time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick animals, the standard American diet that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.
Online vape retailers ignore rules meant to protect minors, new UCSD study finds
Ideally, the researchers would have struck out completely — none of the 156 orders delivered, given the state's ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, and certainly none delivered by the Postal Service.
Tribal health leaders say feds haven’t treated syphilis outbreak as a public health emergency
The NIHB has urged the Department of Health and Human Services to declare a public health emergency as an alarming syphilis outbreak, which disproportionately affects Native Americans, continues.
California insurance department accused of hiding information on life insurance complaints
The Department of Insurance's alleged stonewalling has gone on for months, the Bay Area-based group said
Dentists are pulling ‘healthy’ and treatable teeth to profit from implants, experts warn
Dental implants have been used for more than half a century to surgically replace missing or damaged teeth with artificial duplicates, often with picture-perfect results.
Here are new guidelines for preventing stroke, the nation’s 4th biggest killer
Here are the updated guidelines from the American Stroke Association, their first in 10 years.
The fascinating, crucial work of the Bay Area’s poison control center
Snakebites, caustic chemicals, drug overdoses -- the work of a poison-hotline operator is never boring.
California beat Trump in court his first term. It’s preparing new cases for his second
California sued the Trump administration more than 100 times in his first term and secured some major victories on the environment, immigration and health care.
California voters give Medi-Cal doctors a raise by passing Prop. 35
California's health care industry mostly united behind Proposition 35, which would bolster Medi-Cal by dedicating money for it from a tax on health insurance plans.
Bay Area counties implement mask mandates for health care facilities
Mandates are aimed at preventing spread of respiratory illness.
Attorney general slams Beverly Hills for ‘illegally interfering’ with abortion clinic
In a settlement with Attorney General Rob Bonta, the city agrees to train employees on abortion access laws. But city officials deny any wrongdoing in how they handled permits for a third-trimester clinic.
California families battling addiction fight for their lives after insurance denials
California requires insurers to cover medically necessary mental health treatment. But to patients, the separation between what that law requires and what health plans provide often feels like a gaping chasm.
Denied coverage for mental health treatment? Here’s what you can do
Government agencies can overrule an insurance company's denial of coverage for a medically necessary mental health treatment, but figuring out how to appeal can be complicated.