Health

‘A fear pandemic’: Immigration raids push patients to telehealth

Patients in need of care are increasingly scared to seek it after President Donald Trump rescinded a Joe Biden-era policy that barred immigration officials from conducting operations in “sensitive” areas such as schools, hospitals, and churches. Clinics and health plans have taken a page out of their COVID playbooks, revamping tested strategies to care for patients scared to leave the house.

An image showing pediatrician Jacob Sweidan sitting at his desk and talking on the phone.

Why Medicare Part D premiums are likely to go up — and what you should do about it

Medicare enrollees who buy the optional Part D drug benefit may see substantial premium price hikes — potentially up to $50 a month — when they shop for next year’s coverage.

Colorful drug capsules and white tablets are arrayed together on a bright orange background.

These SoCal residents are saying no to alcohol. Here are the biggest reasons why

Drinking rates hit a new low in the U.S., according to a recent Gallup poll.

Listen 34:12

To help more unhoused patients, LA street medics push to change state law

Street medicine providers say the bill would cut red tape in state health insurance plans and allow them to provide wheelchairs and other medical help more quickly.

A man wearing a T-shirt that says "USC Street Medicine" and a stethoscope around his neck crouches down on a sidewalk to address a bearded man with dirty hands who is sitting against a wall.

The hidden costs of cutting Medicaid

Cutting Medicaid can seem like an easy way to slash the budget. But, the costs can spread to all of us.

A medical professional with medium skin tone wearing blue gloves and a mask gives a shot to a woman with light skin tone wearing a green mask sitting on a chair.

‘We did not want to take this guy’: Abuse rates higher at nursing homes with more mental illness

Nursing homes are designed to care for patients with physical infirmities. But nationwide, 1 in 5 residents has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or psychosis — conditions few of the facilities are equipped to handle.

A photo illustration shows images transposed on documents.

Public health experts dismayed by RFK Jr.'s defunding of mRNA vaccine research

The Trump administration canceled about $500 million for research into mRNA vaccines. The move slows progress in using the technology to prevent a future pandemic or treat disease, experts say.

Listen 3:52

At Skid Row Care Campus, homeless neighbors chart their own path to services

L.A. opened a homeless services hub in Skid Row focused on the health and well-being of drug users.

Listen 0:43

A person wearing a backwards cap and holding a clipboard stands with another person under an umbrella in front of a building which says "Skid Row Care (Campus)"

2,300 California ‘Dreamers’ are about to lose their health care coverage

The Trump administration has reversed a rule that allowed undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as kids to buy health insurance on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.