KFF Health News

California Healthline is a service of the California Health Care Foundation produced by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Auburn is the seat of Placer County. In December, county officials asked to join a statewide association that provides care to mostly small, rural counties, citing an expected rise in the number of uninsured residents. (iStockphoto/Getty Images)

On the hook for uninsured residents, counties wonder now how they’ll pay

January 7, 2026 at 6:58 a.m.

County health officials nationwide are bracing for an estimated 10 million newly uninsured patients over the next decade in the wake of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Sam Flores, far left, and his mom Irene Flores, center left, pick up food from Second Harvest Food Bank team members Clarissa Green and Joey Fonseca-Islas during a Thanksgiving food distribution event that also offered assistance with signing up for Medi-Cal and CalFresh. (Alisha Jucevic for KFF Health News)

Medicaid health plans step up outreach efforts ahead of GOP changes

December 17, 2025 at 2:17 p.m.

Medicaid health plans are hosting events across the U.S. to prevent low-income families from losing health insurance and food benefits next year.

Chapman University dancer Talia Brennan, 21, left, holds hands with her senior partner, Phyllis Turnbull, 99, who was a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol, after performing for residents at the senior living community Emerald Court in Anaheim on Monday, May 17, 2021. Chapman dance students in a Dance Education and Outreach course were assigned a project to pair up with a senior at Emerald Court. The student/senior pairs communicated via weekly calls where the student learned about the lives and experiences of the seniors. The project culminated with a dance performance choreographed based on the lives of the seniors. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Senior living: Wheelchair? Hearing aids? Yes. ‘Disabled’? No way

December 15, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Older people tend not to say they have a disability, even when they have conditions that qualify for accommodations, a recent survey shows.

Senior living: Health care groups aim to counter growing ‘national scandal’ of elder homelessness

September 1, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

In the U.S., 1 in 5 people who were homeless in 2024 were 55 or older, with the total older homeless population up 6% from the previous year.

Senior living: How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech

August 25, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

The first cohort of seniors to have contended with a digital society has reached the age when cognitive impairment becomes more common.

Senior living: Sorting out COVID-19 vaccine confusion amid new, conflicting federal policies

August 18, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

If you want a COVID-19 shot this fall, will your employer’s health insurance plan pay for it? There’s no clear answer.

Senior living: Many older people embrace vaccines. Research is proving them right

June 30, 2025 at 6:01 a.m.

Studies have found important benefits from a newer vaccine and enhanced versions of older ones.

Activists and City representatives hold a press conference for “We Are California”, a growing movement of California grassroots organizations and communities, is joining the fight against Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Republican leaders’ proposed federal budget that would gut Medicaid/Medi-Cal and give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Medi-Cal under threat: Who’s covered and what could be cut?

April 18, 2025 at 10:35 a.m.

Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than what’s required. Budget pressures...

Senior living: Nursing homes and the AMA, once Medicaid defenders, hang back as GOP mulls big cuts

March 24, 2025 at 6:03 a.m.

The American Medical Association and the American Health Care Association have been largely silent about potential Medicaid cuts.

Republicans’ use of loaded terms is looking to sway Medicaid debate in Congress

March 7, 2025 at 5:06 a.m.

Republicans are using terms such as “money laundering” and “discrimination” to make their case.

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