Californians enrolled in the state’s low-income insurance program have more difficulty accessing health care than those with employer-sponsored insurance, a new study has found. The coverage gap was the greatest for people living in rural or suburban areas and for certain racial and ethnic groups.
Bryan Hirayama, an assistant professor at Bakersfield Community College, made a little bit of history this year. He became one of the first community college professors to teach inside a California state prison in roughly the last 20 years.
When AARP’s Jo Ann Jenkins announced it was time to “disrupt aging” and view the elder years as one of life’s most positive phases, she spotlighted the great expectations for Monday’s White House Conference on Aging.
Creating a welcoming medical home for adults and children with developmental disabilities is what compelled Alicia Bazzano and her husband — both pediatricians, and parents to a special needs child — to co-found the clinic two years ago. It is believed to be the only one of its kind in the state. Bazzano, who also has a Ph.D. in public health, says people with developmental disabilities (which includes autism, mental retardation, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy) are at a disadvantage on many fronts.
California Health Report, Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Weintraub interviews UC Davis Assistant Professor, Dr. Amy Barnhorst about her work with patients in acute psychiatric crisis.
A state review of a dental program that serves low-income Californians shows that significantly fewer dentists are accepting those patients, despite a surge in demand.
A push to allow “assisted dying” in California was derailed this week when a bill already passed by the Senate was quickly pulled from an Assembly committee, lacking the needed votes.
Judy Zlatnik, Meals on Wheels Volunteer, Age 75, “Many of the people that need Meals on Wheels are unable to drive. Some of them are unable to get out of a chair. A few are bedridden. But for some reason they aren’t able to get out of the house, they aren’t able to go shopping. And if they’re offered transportation they’re still not able to provide the meals.”
Palliative care, which is medical care that aims to improve the quality of life for people with chronic or serious illnesses, is not widely available in California. A new law, SB 1004, passed by the Legislature last August, directs the state to create a palliative care program for people enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s low-income health plan. Nearly a third of Californians — about 12.3 million people — are enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Five older adult women sit in recliners covered with blankets. They wear soft booties on their feet while harp music plays quietly. A TV monitor gently rotates photos of flowers, while the walls feature beach décor graphics – deck chairs, fishing gear, plants and beach grass. The room’s artificial lights are off. Natural light suffuses the room. The aromatic scent of orange permeates the air.