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California lawmakers gave public school teachers 14 weeks of paid leave in the state鈥檚 new budget, a long-sought benefit for the largely female workforce. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously opposed similar measures.
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation 鈥 possibly from medical professionals 鈥 to prove that they鈥檙e too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri鈥檚 income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
With the federal Medicaid work requirements looming in January, Democrats are considering state legislation to call out big companies that employ workers enrolled in the safety net health program. Business giants such as Amazon and Walmart said the figures are misleading.
Washington state has launched the first program to help cover home care and other supports. Several other states are paying attention.
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year 鈥 and didn鈥檛 know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can鈥檛 get it again until 2027.
Starting in July, the government will cap what graduate students may borrow in federal loans, forcing many toward private lenders with higher interest rates. The borrowing limits will affect students pursuing healthcare degrees, and some clinicians and student loan experts worry they may impede efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce.
Medicare is testing the use of artificial intelligence to preapprove several healthcare services. Federal health officials say prior authorization can help reduce fraud and contain costs. But doctors and patients describe the trial as 鈥渉orrendous鈥 and full of red tape so far.
Four years after the Volunteer State enacted the nation鈥檚 first law allowing drugstores to sell ivermectin without patient-specific prescriptions, dozens of pharmacies dispense the drug in highly concentrated pills 鈥 many with the help of one anti-vaccine physician.
Despite widespread support in polls for legalizing aid in dying, the number of people who go through with the practice remains very small.
Last spring, a woman started exhibiting unusual memory problems after a hike in Arizona. It turns out she was experiencing a disorder called transient global amnesia. She has fully recovered, but a dispute over nearly $60,000 in hospital charges has been a source of stress for over a year.
A crisis pregnancy center in Sandpoint, Idaho, wants to expand women鈥檚 healthcare three years after the labor and delivery unit at the town鈥檚 hospital closed and its OB-GYNs moved out of state.
An uptick in people skipping Obamacare premium payments in many states suggests the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 rising costs 鈥 driven partly by lower subsidies to help people buy plans 鈥 are hitting home for 2026 enrollees. The trend adds to voter concerns about affordability ahead of the midterm elections.
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they don鈥檛 have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care. In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services.
Across California and the nation, health providers, advocates, local officials, and state legislators are eyeing tax increases to offset a loss of more than $900 billion in federal Medicaid dollars as a result of the GOP鈥檚 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In Los Angeles County, community clinics have banded together in support of a half-cent sales tax.
Scientists are cheering California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he builds a public health bulwark against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 anti-vaccine stance and President Donald Trump鈥檚 withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Still, federal cuts have sapped morale and left local health departments less prepared for outbreaks.
Mobile crisis units are trained to respond to emergency calls when people are experiencing delusions or hallucinations. But unlike police departments, which are generally funded by local taxpayers, mobile crisis teams don鈥檛 have a single, reliable funding source. As a result, some are closing down, despite successful operations and local support.
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