Providence, the country’s 10th-biggest hospital chain, says it’s too expensive to upgrade an older hospital, so it will join forces with giant Kaiser Permanente to build a new one.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall election in September, fueled in part by anger over his pandemic policies. The health care industry has ponied up more than $4.8 million so far to defend the first-term Democrat.
A bicyclist from California competed in a Pennsylvania race that could have landed him in this month’s Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash on the velodrome track landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-state, out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.
Brexanolone is a promising new treatment for postpartum depression. But one insurer’s requirement that women try four other drugs and electroconvulsive therapy before the infusion means it is out-of-reach for millions of women.
At a pop-up vaccine clinic in a McDonald’s parking lot in the city of San Bernardino, fewer than two dozen people agreed to get a shot, offering a snapshot of the faltering vaccination effort.
A year and a half after Sutter Health agreed to a tentative settlement in a closely watched antitrust case, the San Francisco judge presiding over the case indicated she would sign off on the terms, pending agreement on another contentious issue: attorney fees.
The major sports leagues are struggling to vaccinate enough of their players to protect the clubhouse and locker room, and few stars have stepped forward to pitch vaccination to teammates or fans. WNBA players are an exception, with a 99% vaccination rate and high-profile ads urging the public to get vaccinated.
After being mostly closed to the public and the press for more than a year, California’s state Capitol is open again — masks, temperature checks, covid outbreaks and all.
Only severely injured patients are supposed to be billed for “trauma team alert” fees that can exceed $50,000.
Pollution and noise from urban highways intersect with illness for neighbors. But “green” developments that replace them can displace the very families harmed in the first place.