California Healthline

Listen to KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér recount how a backyard snakebite led to a harrowing hospitalization — and big bills — for a San Diego family. https://lnkd.in/eghAMa8u

After their son ended up in the intensive care unit from a rattlesnake bite, a San Diego family paid thousands for his treatment. Listen to their story: https://lnkd.in/eghAMa8u

Many U.S. hospitals are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say the shortage accelerated their plans to change IV fluid hydration protocols altogether. Simpler conservation measures could become common after the shortage abates, said Vince Green, chief medical officer for Pipeline Health, a small hospital system in the Los Angeles area that serves mainly people on Medicare and Medicaid. Patients may be asked to take more accountability for their hydration, by drinking Gatorade or water rather than the default of hydrating through an IV, he said. Jackie Fortiér reports: https://lnkd.in/gSh4Rgf8

#ICYMI: Health care might not have been the biggest issue in the campaign, but the return of Donald Trump to the presidency is likely to have a seismic impact on health policy over the next four years. Changes to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the nation’s public health infrastructure are likely on the agenda. But how far Trump goes will depend largely on who staffs key health policy roles and on whether Democrats take a majority in the U.S. House, where several races remain uncalled. Listen to #WTHealth: https://lnkd.in/eTFKk5wZ

A California agency charged with slowing health costs has set a lofty goal for insurers to direct 15% of their spending to primary care by 2034, part of the state’s effort to expand the primary care workforce and give more people access to preventive care services. Vanessa G. Sánchez reports: https://lnkd.in/erMHb5T2

Pregnant women are being asked to make large cash payments months before they deliver their babies. Some patient advocates worry this billing practice allows providers to hold treatment hostage. Renuka Rayasam reports: https://lnkd.in/evsnTKQv

California health officials began providing protective clothing to farmworkers months before the state’s first bird flu transmission to humans was announced in October. It’s a reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared for health threats amid multibillion-dollar deficits. Don Thompson reports: https://lnkd.in/eDN_WmX3

With the arrival in California of dengue, a dangerous mosquito-borne disease present mainly in more tropical climates, public health authorities are deploying a range of strategies to beat back the Aedes mosquitoes that spread the virus. Claudia Boyd-Barrett reports: https://lnkd.in/gwsE-RYs

The National Indian Health Board has urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare a public health emergency as an alarming syphilis outbreak, which disproportionately affects Native Americans, continues. This is the latest plea for more resources from tribal leaders after previous requests went unanswered. Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez reports: https://lnkd.in/e3WAsv4n

Victims of the opioid crisis, health advocates, and public policy experts have repeatedly called on state and local governments to transparently report how they’re using the funds they are receiving from settlements with opioid makers and distributors. Aneri Pattani reports: https://lnkd.in/eKGtpTdb