KFF Health News

An important new study offers much-needed data to inform older Americans of the risks and benefits they must weigh when facing major surgery.

Rob Bonta asked 30 hospital CEOs for a list of the commercial software programs their facilities use to support clinical decisions, schedule operating rooms, and guide billing practices.

The question of why California has granted hookah smokers an exception while banning menthol cigarettes, the choice of 85% of African American smokers, has sparked a debate about which tobacco products — if any — merit protection.

Californians are facing the third statewide dialysis initiative in five years. The dialysis industry is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 29 and is running ads saying the measure would force clinics to close — a message that appears to be resonating with patients.

In September, American Medical Response, the largest U.S. provider of ambulance services, announced it had “made the difficult decision” to end nonemergency transports in Los Angeles County. It blamed the state for low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Viability has long been a controversial concept, plaguing ethicists on both sides of the abortion debate since it was embedded in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is testing the waters on a $25 minimum wage for support staff at healthcare facilities in Southern California. Opposition from hospitals and health facilities is driving an expensive battle.

Content with the hashtag “dementia” has racked up more than 4 billion views on TikTok, as younger generations, already accustomed to sharing their lives online, now find themselves caring for aging loved ones.

BMI is everywhere. It uses an equation — essentially a ratio of mass to height — to categorize patients as overweight, underweight, or at a “healthy weight.” It’s appealingly simple, with a scale that designates adults who score between 18.5 and 24.9 as within a healthy range.

Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won’t improve access to basic care.