Month: April 2014

ACA Offers Critical Support for Foster Kids

Before the ACA became law, California extended Medi-Cal coverage for former foster children until their 21st birthdays. In Los Angeles County, that deadline meant some 1,500 former foster youth lost their health coverage each year. Statewide estimates set the number at up to 5,000 youths a year. Now, the ACA guarantees access to health care services for former foster youth until age 26, just like other young people who can stay on their parents’ private insurance plans until that age.

Barriers to Mental Health Treatment Remain Under Obamacare

When a patient at St. James Health Center needs mental health care, the first thing Susana Farina does is check insurance. The type of insurance patients have — if they have any at all — determines what kind of doctor they can see and even the date of their appointments. The Affordable Care Act covers treatment for some mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, but the law is not comprehensive and many Californians with mental illnesses still face challenges accessing care.

Treating Alzheimer’s: Where East Meets West

Dale Bredesen has provocative theory about treating Alzheimer’s disease, one that takes a bold integrative approach to treating the disease and may help answer vexing riddles that have long perplexed researchers and drug manufacturers alike.

A Class Robot Helps Kids with Autism

An 8-year-old boy with autism ran up to a booth where a small robot named Nao sat on a display table at a technology conference a few years ago. Nao was “looking” around. When the child touched the robot’s shiny white and blue body, its sensors engaged, and it turned its head and began to ask the boy questions in a pleasant, computerized voice.

A Mobile Medical Home: Vans Bring the Clinic to Patients

A guitarist plucked a folksy melody as families strolled around Irvine’s Great Park on a recent Sunday. That’s when Araceli Lopez from Lake Forest spotted the Smile Mobile, a fully equipped RV that brings dental services to locations around Orange County. She quickly volunteered her three daughters for an impromptu checkup.

An Increasing Number of US Elderly Are Dealing with Hunger

One in 12 American older people regularly go hungry, according to a new study. Researchers at University of Illinois and the University of Kentucky used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The report also shows that seniors who go hungry also face negative health and nutrition consequences.

X Close

Subscribe to Our Mailing List