window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"stateofhealth_262910": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_262910",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "262910",
"found": true
},
"parent": 262888,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-520x347.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 347
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-375x250.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 250
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-e1479943675229.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 680
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/iStock-589945622-240x160.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 160
}
},
"publishDate": 1479943629,
"modified": 1479943665,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Obamacare and magnifying glass",
"credit": "Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_257785": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_257785",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "257785",
"found": true
},
"parent": 257784,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-520x343.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 343
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-160x105.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 105
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-375x247.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 247
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 527
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-800x527.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 527
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-768x506.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 506
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85-240x158.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 158
}
},
"publishDate": 1478800985,
"modified": 1478801020,
"caption": "President-elect Donald Trump has consistently promised to repeal Obamacare.",
"description": "President-elect Donald Trump has consistently promised to repeal Obamacare.",
"title": "trump-healthcare_custom-e08cfe8a3bc22a22a3da163c030d2d9cb66cd4c3-s800-c85",
"credit": "Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_254889": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_254889",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "254889",
"found": true
},
"parent": 254887,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-520x347.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 347
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-375x250.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 250
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-e1478198750764.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1281
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 680
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-800x534.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 534
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1920x1281.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1281
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-1920x1281.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1281
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/11/RS11278_479421059-240x160.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 160
}
},
"publishDate": 1478025061,
"modified": 1478025364,
"caption": "The Covered California website has a new tool allowing side-by-side plan comparison.",
"description": "The Covered California website has a new tool allowing side-by-side plan comparison.",
"title": "The Covered California website has a new tool allowing side-by-side plan comparison.",
"credit": "Justin Sullivan/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_242970": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_242970",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "242970",
"found": true
},
"parent": 242950,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-e1475178405384.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_14103014_LARGE-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1475178241,
"modified": 1475178464,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "iStock_14103014_LARGE",
"credit": "iStock photo/Getty images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_237848": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_237848",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "237848",
"found": true
},
"parent": 237846,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-e1474051801405.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_80272911_LARGE-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1474051733,
"modified": 1474051844,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": null,
"credit": "iStock photo/Getty images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_237126": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_237126",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "237126",
"found": true
},
"parent": 237123,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-400x300.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 300
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-960x720.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 720
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-e1473869247232.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1440
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-1440x1080.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-800x600.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 600
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-1920x1440.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1440
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-1180x885.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 885
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-768x576.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_5253776_LARGE-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1473869197,
"modified": 1473869240,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "iStock_5253776_LARGE",
"credit": "iStock/Getty images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_235210": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_235210",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "235210",
"found": true
},
"parent": 235188,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-e1473445877203.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_18801933_LARGE-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1473445841,
"modified": 1473445909,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "iStock_18801933_LARGE",
"credit": "iStock/Getty images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_234726": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_234726",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "234726",
"found": true
},
"parent": 234725,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-960x640.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 640
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-e1473353163672.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/09/iStock_41776610_LARGE-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1473353101,
"modified": 1473353198,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "iStock_41776610_LARGE",
"credit": "iStock/Getty images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_231162": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_231162",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "231162",
"found": true
},
"parent": 231161,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-400x251.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 251
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-960x603.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 603
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1205
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-1440x904.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 904
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-800x502.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 502
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-1920x1205.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1205
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-1180x741.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 741
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-768x482.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 482
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/10946_transform-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1472599807,
"modified": 1498614596,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "10946_transform",
"credit": "Andy Warner/KQED",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_229193": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_229193",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "229193",
"found": true
},
"parent": 229191,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-400x225.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 225
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-1440x810.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 810
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/GettyImages-51623723-1-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1472169696,
"modified": 1472169768,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": null,
"credit": "Paul Richards/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_228690": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_228690",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "228690",
"found": true
},
"parent": 228587,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-400x266.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 266
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-960x639.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 639
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-e1472067724445.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1278
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-1440x958.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 958
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-800x532.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 532
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-1920x1278.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1278
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-768x511.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 511
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS14135_110688608-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1472067650,
"modified": 1472067738,
"caption": "A woman, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, walks in a corridor in a retirement house.",
"description": "A woman, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, walks in a corridor in a retirement house.",
"title": null,
"credit": "Sebastien Bozon/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_225429": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_225429",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "225429",
"found": true
},
"parent": 225405,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-400x300.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 300
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-960x720.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 720
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1440
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-1440x1080.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-800x600.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 600
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"jmtc-small-thumb": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-280x150.jpg",
"width": 280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-1920x1440.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1440
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-1180x885.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 885
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-768x576.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS19268_IMG_6407-qut-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1471319741,
"modified": 1501179428,
"caption": "According to Yelp, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley has \"below average\" C-Section rates and \"above average\" breastfeeding rates. It is also more likely than other California hospitals to allow women to have a subsequent vaginal birth after a previous C-Section birth. ",
"description": "According to Yelp, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley has \"below average\" rates for C-sections and \"above average\" rates for breastfeeding after childbirth. It also is more likely than other hospitals to allow women to have a vaginal birth after she has already had a C-section. ",
"title": "RS19268_IMG_6407-qut",
"credit": "Lisa Aliferis/KQED",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"byline_stateofhealth_262888": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_262888",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_262888",
"name": "Emily Bazar \u003cbr/> \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/\">California Healthline\u003c/a>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_257784": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_257784",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_257784",
"name": "Alison Kodjak, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_242950": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_242950",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_242950",
"name": "Chad Terhune\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_237846": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_237846",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_237846",
"name": "\u003cstrong>Ana B. Ibarra\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_237123": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_237123",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_237123",
"name": "Alison Kodjak \u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/\">NPR Shots\u003c/a>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_235188": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_235188",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_235188",
"name": "\u003cstrong>Chad Terhune\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_234725": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_234725",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_234725",
"name": "Tom Murphy, Associated Press ",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_229191": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_229191",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_229191",
"name": "\u003cstrong>Emily Bazar\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/author/emily-bazar\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_stateofhealth_228587": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_stateofhealth_228587",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_stateofhealth_228587",
"name": "\u003cstrong> Sarah Varney \u003c/br> Kaiser Health News \u003c/strong>",
"isLoading": false
},
"adembosky": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "3205",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "3205",
"found": true
},
"name": "April Dembosky",
"firstName": "April",
"lastName": "Dembosky",
"slug": "adembosky",
"email": "adembosky@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news",
"science"
],
"title": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"bio": "April Dembosky is the health correspondent for KQED News and a regular contributor to NPR. She specializes in covering altered states of mind, from postpartum depression to methamphetamine-induced psychosis to the insanity defense. Her investigative series on insurance companies sidestepping mental health laws won multiple awards, including first place in beat reporting from the national Association of Health Care Journalists. She is the recipient of numerous other prizes and fellowships, including a national Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting, a Society of Professional Journalists award for long-form storytelling, and a Carter Center Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.\r\n\r\nDembosky reported and produced \u003cem>Soundtrack of Silence\u003c/em>, an audio documentary about music and memory that is currently being made into a feature film by Paramount Pictures.\r\n\r\nBefore joining KQED in 2013, Dembosky covered technology and Silicon Valley for \u003cem>The Financial Times of London,\u003c/em> and contributed business and arts stories to \u003cem>Marketplace \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The New York Times.\u003c/em> She got her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Smith College and her master's in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a classically trained violinist and proud alum of the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "adembosky",
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "April Dembosky | KQED",
"description": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/adembosky"
},
"lklivans": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "8648",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "8648",
"found": true
},
"name": "Laura Klivans",
"firstName": "Laura",
"lastName": "Klivans",
"slug": "lklivans",
"email": "lklivans@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news",
"science"
],
"title": "Reporter",
"bio": "Laura Klivans is an award-winning science reporter for KQED News, where she covers climate change with an eye on both groundbreaking progress and gaps in action. She is the former host of KQED's blockbuster video series about tiny, amazing animals, \u003cem>Deep Look\u003c/em>. Her work reaches national audiences through NPR, \u003cem>Here & Now, \u003c/em>PRI, and other major outlets. \r\n\r\nLaura’s won five Northern California Area Emmy Awards for Deep Look and First Place in the Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards for a podcast exploring how one Oakland neighborhood teamed up to reduce planet-heating pollution.\r\n\r\nBeyond her reporting, she hosts and moderates events. In the past, she taught audio storytelling at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, led international education programs, worked with immigrants and refugees along the Thai-Burmese border, taught high schoolers sex ed, and was an actress. \r\n\r\nShe's a former UC Berkeley Human Rights Fellow, USC Center for Health Journalism's California Fellow and Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. Laura has a master’s in journalism from UC Berkeley, a master’s in education from Harvard, and an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.\r\n\r\nShe loves trying to riddle the meaning out of vanity license plates.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2d2ecd1550a494cc10ad4a503406965585902124739e775a9b3817eebf1d88be?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "lauraklivans",
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"contributor",
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Laura Klivans | KQED",
"description": "Reporter",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2d2ecd1550a494cc10ad4a503406965585902124739e775a9b3817eebf1d88be?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2d2ecd1550a494cc10ad4a503406965585902124739e775a9b3817eebf1d88be?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/lklivans"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"stateofhealth_category_health-insurance": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2442",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2442",
"score": 13.107896
},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Insurance",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Insurance Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2453,
"slug": "health-insurance",
"isLoading": false,
"title": "Health Insurance",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "stateofhealth",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 3
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/stateofhealth?category=health-insurance",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 3
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://hls.kqed.org/hls/kqed_app/playlist.m3u8",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stateofhealth_262888": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_262888",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "262888",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1479944724000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1479944724,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "No Immediate Changes to Your Obamacare Coverage",
"title": "No Immediate Changes to Your Obamacare Coverage",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>To the millions of Californians who obtained health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act, know this: Despite the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to repeal the health law, nothing is going to happen to your coverage immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, open enrollment for Covered California plans continues through January 31 despite the election outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t panic. The open enrollment period is set,” says Myles Pappadato, an insurance agent based in Valencia whose firm, \u003ca href=\"http://www.quotebroker.com/\" target=\"_blank\">QuoteBroker\u003c/a>, has about 600 clients with Covered California policies. He fielded about a dozen calls the morning after the election from worried consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t make any decisions based on speculation,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond that, uncertainty reigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, two major Obamacare initiatives brought health insurance to millions of people: About 1.3 million of you have plans through \u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Covered California\u003c/a>, the state health insurance exchange. And about 3.7 million others joined \u003ca href=\"http://centerforhealthreporting.org/article/medi-cal-and-obamacare-more-confusing-twists\" target=\"_blank\">Medi-Cal\u003c/a>, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, after it expanded its eligibility criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear how Trump and the Republican-dominated Congress will seek to pick apart Obamacare next year — or how long that could take. An outright repeal \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/repealing-the-affordable-care-act-could-be-more-complicated-than-it-looks/?utm_campaign=CHL%3A+Daily+Edition&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=37396635&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9aanSH42gAveSfgTPrn_VrHvjt7rmUC5RKZWxi67PHhBa605aa40A241EiJaXyMHY9KR_ZuAZq2d7AL4vHPFgK1V_4JA&_hsmi=37396635\" target=\"_blank\">might be difficult \u003c/a>because it would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to overcome a Democratic filibuster, which means the Republicans would need the support of at least eight Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republicans could use budget procedures instead to kill critical portions of the law, including the funding for Medicaid expansion in states like California and the federal tax credits that lower premiums for most Covered California enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the subsidies go away, the vast majority of folks are not going to be able to afford their coverage. They’re struggling as it is,” Pappadato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from Covered California, Medi-Cal and the state Health and Human Services Agency are scrambling to figure out what’s next, but the outlook isn’t good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I cannot provide false comfort,” says Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group \u003ca href=\"http://www.health-access.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Access California\u003c/a>. “This is a real risk for coverage that millions of Californians depend on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyn Jutronich, of San Diego, came close to tears when describing the anxiety she felt before Obamacare. Jutronich, 44, has three children under the age of 12 who are now covered by Medi-Cal. She and her husband, a contractor, have a Covered California plan and receive tax credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When my child got sick or injured, I used to ask myself, ‘How am I going to pay for this?’ That burden was completely relieved” by Obamacare, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thought of having to go back to that is just shattering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the law, Jutronich went without insurance for more than a year because she had preexisting medical conditions. At that time, insurers were not required to cover people who had previous medical problems, or they could charge them significantly more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premiums for the family’s insurance — with her included — would have been about $3,000 to $4,000 a month before Obamacare, so they opted to buy a plan for the kids and her husband, because of his dangerous job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m terrified that in the near future I will have to go without insurance again, and that I will again have that horrible ‘Do I really need to take my child to the emergency room today or can it wait?’ question looming in my head,” Jutronich says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California’s executive director, Peter Lee, wants to reassure consumers, saying it’s business as usual for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People have some reasonable questions and those questions will take time to answer,” Lee says. “We will be working very hard to get the word out that the subsidies are available and the rules remain in place under the law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal, says “there are no immediate changes” to that program. It did not offer advice to Medi-Cal enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jen Flory, a senior attorney at the \u003ca href=\"https://wclp.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Western Center on Law & Poverty\u003c/a>, says Medi-Cal expansion enrollees should “feel free to use their Medi-Cal. If they qualify and haven’t applied, they should still apply. No new law has been passed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’ve been waiting to get a medical procedure or delaying an exam, “don’t put anything off,” Flory suggests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, chair of the \u003ca href=\"http://shea.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Health Committee\u003c/a>, also wants Californians to keep enrolling in the coverage they’re eligible for and using the coverage they have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Continue doing what you’ve been doing. You have health insurance. Use it as you need it,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez expects California lawmakers to do “everything we can to protect patients to make sure they have access to health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could that include finding state money to replace any federal funding that may be cut?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to ask ourselves the billion-dollar question: Does the state take on that responsibility?” Hernandez says. “That’s a discussion the state Legislature will have to have, but we’re not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wright, of Health Access, urges Californians to advocate for themselves in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until something happens, people should sign up for the benefits and then join the political fight to keep them,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kolsin, a certified public accountant in Fountain Valley, agrees that consumers need to speak up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kolsin, 61, and his wife receive tax credits for their Covered California policy, and the cost of their monthly premiums would double if federal funding were cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happens to people like myself who have depended on those tax credits, and all of a sudden they’re gone and now you have this huge bill?” he asks. “How do you pay for it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He plans to share his opinion with lawmakers, asking them not to repeal or gut Obamacare without coming up with a replacement plan first. He wants others to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Write to the existing and new Congress members and Trump,” Kolsin says. “Fill their mailboxes, basically saying ‘Whatever you do with the Affordable Care Act, do not kill it until the day the new law goes into effect.’”\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "262888 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=262888",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/11/23/no-immediate-changes-to-your-obamacare-coverage/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1103,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 36
},
"modified": 1479944724,
"excerpt": "Healthcare columnist says people concerned about Trump's attacks on Obamacare should watch and wait, and continue to take advantage of coverage through the Affordable Care Act. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Healthcare columnist says people concerned about Trump's attacks on Obamacare should watch and wait, and continue to take advantage of coverage through the Affordable Care Act. ",
"title": "No Immediate Changes to Your Obamacare Coverage | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "No Immediate Changes to Your Obamacare Coverage",
"datePublished": "2016-11-23T15:45:24-08:00",
"dateModified": "2016-11-23T15:45:24-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "no-immediate-changes-to-your-obamacare-coverage",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Emily Bazar \u003cbr/> \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/\">California Healthline\u003c/a>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/262888/no-immediate-changes-to-your-obamacare-coverage",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>To the millions of Californians who obtained health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act, know this: Despite the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to repeal the health law, nothing is going to happen to your coverage immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, open enrollment for Covered California plans continues through January 31 despite the election outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t panic. The open enrollment period is set,” says Myles Pappadato, an insurance agent based in Valencia whose firm, \u003ca href=\"http://www.quotebroker.com/\" target=\"_blank\">QuoteBroker\u003c/a>, has about 600 clients with Covered California policies. He fielded about a dozen calls the morning after the election from worried consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t make any decisions based on speculation,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond that, uncertainty reigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, two major Obamacare initiatives brought health insurance to millions of people: About 1.3 million of you have plans through \u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Covered California\u003c/a>, the state health insurance exchange. And about 3.7 million others joined \u003ca href=\"http://centerforhealthreporting.org/article/medi-cal-and-obamacare-more-confusing-twists\" target=\"_blank\">Medi-Cal\u003c/a>, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, after it expanded its eligibility criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear how Trump and the Republican-dominated Congress will seek to pick apart Obamacare next year — or how long that could take. An outright repeal \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/repealing-the-affordable-care-act-could-be-more-complicated-than-it-looks/?utm_campaign=CHL%3A+Daily+Edition&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=37396635&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9aanSH42gAveSfgTPrn_VrHvjt7rmUC5RKZWxi67PHhBa605aa40A241EiJaXyMHY9KR_ZuAZq2d7AL4vHPFgK1V_4JA&_hsmi=37396635\" target=\"_blank\">might be difficult \u003c/a>because it would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to overcome a Democratic filibuster, which means the Republicans would need the support of at least eight Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Republicans could use budget procedures instead to kill critical portions of the law, including the funding for Medicaid expansion in states like California and the federal tax credits that lower premiums for most Covered California enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the subsidies go away, the vast majority of folks are not going to be able to afford their coverage. They’re struggling as it is,” Pappadato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from Covered California, Medi-Cal and the state Health and Human Services Agency are scrambling to figure out what’s next, but the outlook isn’t good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I cannot provide false comfort,” says Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group \u003ca href=\"http://www.health-access.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Access California\u003c/a>. “This is a real risk for coverage that millions of Californians depend on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyn Jutronich, of San Diego, came close to tears when describing the anxiety she felt before Obamacare. Jutronich, 44, has three children under the age of 12 who are now covered by Medi-Cal. She and her husband, a contractor, have a Covered California plan and receive tax credits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When my child got sick or injured, I used to ask myself, ‘How am I going to pay for this?’ That burden was completely relieved” by Obamacare, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thought of having to go back to that is just shattering.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the law, Jutronich went without insurance for more than a year because she had preexisting medical conditions. At that time, insurers were not required to cover people who had previous medical problems, or they could charge them significantly more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premiums for the family’s insurance — with her included — would have been about $3,000 to $4,000 a month before Obamacare, so they opted to buy a plan for the kids and her husband, because of his dangerous job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m terrified that in the near future I will have to go without insurance again, and that I will again have that horrible ‘Do I really need to take my child to the emergency room today or can it wait?’ question looming in my head,” Jutronich says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California’s executive director, Peter Lee, wants to reassure consumers, saying it’s business as usual for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People have some reasonable questions and those questions will take time to answer,” Lee says. “We will be working very hard to get the word out that the subsidies are available and the rules remain in place under the law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal, says “there are no immediate changes” to that program. It did not offer advice to Medi-Cal enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Jen Flory, a senior attorney at the \u003ca href=\"https://wclp.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Western Center on Law & Poverty\u003c/a>, says Medi-Cal expansion enrollees should “feel free to use their Medi-Cal. If they qualify and haven’t applied, they should still apply. No new law has been passed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’ve been waiting to get a medical procedure or delaying an exam, “don’t put anything off,” Flory suggests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, chair of the \u003ca href=\"http://shea.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Health Committee\u003c/a>, also wants Californians to keep enrolling in the coverage they’re eligible for and using the coverage they have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Continue doing what you’ve been doing. You have health insurance. Use it as you need it,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez expects California lawmakers to do “everything we can to protect patients to make sure they have access to health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could that include finding state money to replace any federal funding that may be cut?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to ask ourselves the billion-dollar question: Does the state take on that responsibility?” Hernandez says. “That’s a discussion the state Legislature will have to have, but we’re not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wright, of Health Access, urges Californians to advocate for themselves in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Until something happens, people should sign up for the benefits and then join the political fight to keep them,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kolsin, a certified public accountant in Fountain Valley, agrees that consumers need to speak up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kolsin, 61, and his wife receive tax credits for their Covered California policy, and the cost of their monthly premiums would double if federal funding were cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happens to people like myself who have depended on those tax credits, and all of a sudden they’re gone and now you have this huge bill?” he asks. “How do you pay for it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He plans to share his opinion with lawmakers, asking them not to repeal or gut Obamacare without coming up with a replacement plan first. He wants others to do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Write to the existing and new Congress members and Trump,” Kolsin says. “Fill their mailboxes, basically saying ‘Whatever you do with the Affordable Care Act, do not kill it until the day the new law goes into effect.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/262888/no-immediate-changes-to-your-obamacare-coverage",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_262888"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_38",
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_3001"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_262910",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_257784": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_257784",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "257784",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1478804374000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1478804374,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress",
"title": "Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/501203831/501477057\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President-elect Donald Trump has promised over and over in recent months that he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, when he reaches the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it,\" Trump \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/10/09/497056227/fact-check-clinton-and-trump-debate-for-the-second-time\" target=\"_blank\">said at a debate\u003c/a> last month. \"We have to repeal it and replace it with something absolutely much less expensive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that Trump will move into the Oval Office in January, the question is whether he'll be able to completely repeal the six-year-old law that has had an impact on every aspect of the U.S. health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a challenge for a Trump presidency,\" says\u003ca href=\"http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/jfh7/\" target=\"_blank\"> Jack Hoadley\u003c/a>, a research professor at Georgetown University's \u003ca href=\"https://hpi.georgetown.edu/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Policy Institute\u003c/a>. \"To get a true repeal and replace through, he needs 60 votes in the Senate.\" That's the minimum number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Repeal of the law is absolutely going to come up, and the only potential defense against that would be a Democratic filibuster — if Republicans even allow a filibuster,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/about/about-austin/\" target=\"_blank\">Austin Frakt\u003c/a>, a health economist who runs the blog \u003ca href=\"http://theincidentaleconomist.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Incidental Economist\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if Trump can't repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, there's a lot he can do through rule-making and smaller legislative changes to weaken the law and mold it more to his liking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They are probably, practically speaking, talking about leaving the ACA, as is, in place,\" Hoadley says. \"Then he can change the ACA to have it showcase the kinds of plans he wants to see in place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his campaign, Trump proposed a \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/11/02/500371785/platform-check-trump-and-clinton-on-health-care\" target=\"_blank\">series of measures\u003c/a> that he said will allow people to buy affordable health insurance policies outside of the Obamacare exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those measures include promoting tax-free health savings accounts that might help individuals save money to pay for health care costs and allowing people to deduct the cost of their premiums on their personal income tax returns. Trump has said he also wants to allow insurers to \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122965862\" target=\"_blank\">sell policies across state lines\u003c/a> to boost competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump could alter the Obamacare exchanges to promote high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts to get a result similar to what he's looking for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"He could change the details of how the marketplaces work,\" Hoadley says. \"It's all worked out through regulation. You could just suspend the regulations.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alternatively, Trump could embrace the \u003ca href=\"http://abetterway.speaker.gov/?page=health-care\" target=\"_blank\">health care plan\u003c/a> promoted by House Speaker Paul Ryan, which starts with repealing the Affordable Care Act. It includes many of the same principles as Trump's plan, but has more details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges Trump faces is that about \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2016/03/03/20-million-people-have-gained-health-insurance-coverage-because-affordable-care-act-new-estimates\" target=\"_blank\">about 20 million\u003c/a> people today have health coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The uninsured rate hit an \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201611.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">all-time low \u003c/a>of 8.9 percent this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of Trump's plan by \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/blog/2016/trump-clinton-presidential-health-care-proposals\" target=\"_blank\">The Commonwealth Fund\u003c/a> estimates it would increase the number of people who lack health insurance by as many as 25 million, and increase the federal budget by as much as $41 billion. That's because much of Trump's plan involves giving tax breaks to encourage people to buy insurance while taking away the requirement to buy insurance — a mandate embedded in Obamacare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if Trump fails to repeal the law, Frakt says, he could easily destroy it from within by refusing to fund it through the budget process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The only thing stopping that is, it's a big deal to throw millions of people off insurance without offering something in return,\" Frakt says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Trump is right that his health savings accounts are a good enough replacement, then he'll be able to get rid of Obamacare through a vote or through neglect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Do+Parents+Invade+Children%27s+Privacy+When+They+Post+Photos+Online%3F+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "257784 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=257784",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/11/10/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 665,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/501203831/501477057"
],
"paragraphCount": 21
},
"modified": 1478805583,
"excerpt": "The president-elect has said he will ask lawmakers to repeal the Affordable Care Act.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The president-elect has said he will ask lawmakers to repeal the Affordable Care Act.",
"title": "Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress",
"datePublished": "2016-11-10T10:59:34-08:00",
"dateModified": "2016-11-10T11:19:43-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress",
"status": "publish",
"audioUrl": "https://www.npr.org/player/embed/501203831/501477057",
"nprByline": "Alison Kodjak, NPR",
"path": "/stateofhealth/257784/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/501203831/501477057\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President-elect Donald Trump has promised over and over in recent months that he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, when he reaches the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it,\" Trump \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/10/09/497056227/fact-check-clinton-and-trump-debate-for-the-second-time\" target=\"_blank\">said at a debate\u003c/a> last month. \"We have to repeal it and replace it with something absolutely much less expensive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that Trump will move into the Oval Office in January, the question is whether he'll be able to completely repeal the six-year-old law that has had an impact on every aspect of the U.S. health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a challenge for a Trump presidency,\" says\u003ca href=\"http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/jfh7/\" target=\"_blank\"> Jack Hoadley\u003c/a>, a research professor at Georgetown University's \u003ca href=\"https://hpi.georgetown.edu/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Policy Institute\u003c/a>. \"To get a true repeal and replace through, he needs 60 votes in the Senate.\" That's the minimum number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Repeal of the law is absolutely going to come up, and the only potential defense against that would be a Democratic filibuster — if Republicans even allow a filibuster,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/about/about-austin/\" target=\"_blank\">Austin Frakt\u003c/a>, a health economist who runs the blog \u003ca href=\"http://theincidentaleconomist.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Incidental Economist\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even if Trump can't repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, there's a lot he can do through rule-making and smaller legislative changes to weaken the law and mold it more to his liking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They are probably, practically speaking, talking about leaving the ACA, as is, in place,\" Hoadley says. \"Then he can change the ACA to have it showcase the kinds of plans he wants to see in place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his campaign, Trump proposed a \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/11/02/500371785/platform-check-trump-and-clinton-on-health-care\" target=\"_blank\">series of measures\u003c/a> that he said will allow people to buy affordable health insurance policies outside of the Obamacare exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those measures include promoting tax-free health savings accounts that might help individuals save money to pay for health care costs and allowing people to deduct the cost of their premiums on their personal income tax returns. Trump has said he also wants to allow insurers to \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122965862\" target=\"_blank\">sell policies across state lines\u003c/a> to boost competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump could alter the Obamacare exchanges to promote high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts to get a result similar to what he's looking for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"He could change the details of how the marketplaces work,\" Hoadley says. \"It's all worked out through regulation. You could just suspend the regulations.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alternatively, Trump could embrace the \u003ca href=\"http://abetterway.speaker.gov/?page=health-care\" target=\"_blank\">health care plan\u003c/a> promoted by House Speaker Paul Ryan, which starts with repealing the Affordable Care Act. It includes many of the same principles as Trump's plan, but has more details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges Trump faces is that about \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2016/03/03/20-million-people-have-gained-health-insurance-coverage-because-affordable-care-act-new-estimates\" target=\"_blank\">about 20 million\u003c/a> people today have health coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The uninsured rate hit an \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201611.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">all-time low \u003c/a>of 8.9 percent this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of Trump's plan by \u003ca href=\"http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/blog/2016/trump-clinton-presidential-health-care-proposals\" target=\"_blank\">The Commonwealth Fund\u003c/a> estimates it would increase the number of people who lack health insurance by as many as 25 million, and increase the federal budget by as much as $41 billion. That's because much of Trump's plan involves giving tax breaks to encourage people to buy insurance while taking away the requirement to buy insurance — a mandate embedded in Obamacare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if Trump fails to repeal the law, Frakt says, he could easily destroy it from within by refusing to fund it through the budget process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The only thing stopping that is, it's a big deal to throw millions of people off insurance without offering something in return,\" Frakt says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Trump is right that his health savings accounts are a good enough replacement, then he'll be able to get rid of Obamacare through a vote or through neglect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Do+Parents+Invade+Children%27s+Privacy+When+They+Post+Photos+Online%3F+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/257784/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_257784"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2994",
"stateofhealth_38",
"stateofhealth_2997",
"stateofhealth_2995",
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_2996",
"stateofhealth_28",
"stateofhealth_365"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_257785",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_254887": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_254887",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "254887",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1478029864000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1478029864,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Enrollment for Covered California Opens, Runs through Jan 31st",
"title": "Enrollment for Covered California Opens, Runs through Jan 31st",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Today marks the opening of \u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Covered California\u003c/a>, the state’s health insurance marketplace. People wanting to enroll, change, or renew their plans have from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the price of Affordable Care Act premiums is increasing nationally by roughly 22 percent, it’s not increasing as substantially in California. On average, the benchmark plan is going up by 13.2 percent statewide, and the majority of those enrolled in California are eligible for health care subsidies and won’t have to pay their full premium amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say California’s health care marketplace has more stability than other states’ exchanges for several reasons, including California’s large size and large enrollment numbers (\u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/news/\" target=\"_blank\">approximately 1.4 million\u003c/a>), and a greater number of insurers, which leads to more competition. California also appropriately estimated prices from the start of Obamacare three years ago, meaning premium increases haven’t been as significant as some other states that initially priced their plans too low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 11 health insurance companies offering a variety of plans for the 2017 year. James Scullary, a spokesman for Covered California, says 92 percent of consumers have the choice of three or more health plans, and all consumers have at least two to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "254887 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=254887",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/11/01/enrollment-for-covered-california-opens-runs-through-jan-31st/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 224,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 7
},
"modified": 1478029864,
"excerpt": "People wanting to enroll, change, or renew their Covered California plans can do so.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "People wanting to enroll, change, or renew their Covered California plans can do so.",
"title": "Enrollment for Covered California Opens, Runs through Jan 31st | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Enrollment for Covered California Opens, Runs through Jan 31st",
"datePublished": "2016-11-01T12:51:04-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-11-01T12:51:04-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "enrollment-for-covered-california-opens-runs-through-jan-31st",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/254887/enrollment-for-covered-california-opens-runs-through-jan-31st",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Today marks the opening of \u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Covered California\u003c/a>, the state’s health insurance marketplace. People wanting to enroll, change, or renew their plans have from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the price of Affordable Care Act premiums is increasing nationally by roughly 22 percent, it’s not increasing as substantially in California. On average, the benchmark plan is going up by 13.2 percent statewide, and the majority of those enrolled in California are eligible for health care subsidies and won’t have to pay their full premium amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say California’s health care marketplace has more stability than other states’ exchanges for several reasons, including California’s large size and large enrollment numbers (\u003ca href=\"http://www.coveredca.com/news/\" target=\"_blank\">approximately 1.4 million\u003c/a>), and a greater number of insurers, which leads to more competition. California also appropriately estimated prices from the start of Obamacare three years ago, meaning premium increases haven’t been as significant as some other states that initially priced their plans too low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 11 health insurance companies offering a variety of plans for the 2017 year. James Scullary, a spokesman for Covered California, says 92 percent of consumers have the choice of three or more health plans, and all consumers have at least two to choose from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/254887/enrollment-for-covered-california-opens-runs-through-jan-31st",
"authors": [
"8648"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_12",
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_38",
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_365"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_254889",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_242950": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_242950",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "242950",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1475178672000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1475178672,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "UnitedHealth, University of California to Create New Health Plan Option",
"title": "UnitedHealth, University of California to Create New Health Plan Option",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>The nation’s largest health insurer and the University of California Health system are joining forces to create a new health plan option for employers and expand research into patient data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the 10-year partnership unveiled Thursday, UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the UC system will form an accountable care organization that will be offered to large, self-funded employers statewide. In accountable care organizations, or \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/news/aco-accountable-care-organization-faq/\" target=\"_blank\">ACOs\u003c/a>, physicians, hospitals and an insurer work together to coordinate care, control spending and share savings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The for-profit insurer will also open a research lab in the San Francisco area early next year offering researchers at the state-run health system access to a huge national database of patient records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collaboration comes as hospital systems and insurers are under increasing pressure from employers, government health programs and their competitors to forge new alliances aimed at improving care and cutting costs. It also reflects the growing importance of data mining to achieve those goals by identifying disease earlier and finding more effective treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal marks UnitedHealth’s continued interest in growing its California business despite its decision in May to leave the state’s health insurance exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s Optum unit was recently awarded a five-year contract to manage pharmacy benefits for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and UnitedHealth is expanding its presence in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. The company said it now serves more than 3.5 million Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UC system runs five academic medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Irvine and Davis, including hospitals, medical groups, clinics and other outpatient facilities. They will continue to work with other insurers such as Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California as network providers and in other ACOs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But UnitedHealth offered several advantages compared to its rivals in terms of data-mining capabilities and administrative support for hospitals and physician offices through its consulting unit, said David Kraus, chief contracting and clinical strategy officer for the UC Health system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was unique about UnitedHealth is they are more than just a health plan,” Kraus said. “This collaboration helps us advance things quicker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kraus said the university system and UnitedHealth want to learn from the mistakes of earlier ACOs and offer employers a more centralized approach that can tap into real-time data as patients move through the health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of employers have a physical health product unrelated to a mental health product unrelated to their wellness program, which is completely unrelated to the pharmacy benefit. We think it needs to be all together, and we get to build this ACO from the ground up,” Kraus said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed. Kraus said a joint governing board will establish the specific financing for individual projects and determine how much each organization contributes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will look at pilots and talk about which ones to invest in and where,” Kraus said. “It could be 80 percent-20 percent or 60-40. We haven’t boxed ourselves into a preordained structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Valentine, vice president and West Coast consulting leader at the health care firm Premier Inc., said the deal brings together two highly regarded organizations, but he said some employers chafe at the high cost of UC facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“UC has to address its whole cost structure,” Valentine said. “They tend to be more expensive so they will need to address pricing to be competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UnitedHealth is playing catch-up in a crowded market. Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, has been the dominant player in California for self-funded employers. In that scenario, large employers have the financial resources to pay their own medical claims. They hire an insurer to administer the health plan and create a provider network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthem had a 37 percent share of the 6.4 million Californians covered by the self-funded market in 2014, according to data from the California Health Care Foundation. Cigna Corp. was second with 24 percent market share, followed by UnitedHealth and Blue Shield of California at 13 percent apiece. (California Healthline is an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HMO giant Kaiser Permanente has a smaller presence in the state’s self-funded market. In the fully insured market for large employers, Kaiser Permanente leads the state with a nearly 50 percent share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new deal, the insurer will establish an office in the San Francisco area for OptumLabs. UnitedHealth founded OptumLabs, a collaborative research center, with the Mayo Clinic in 2013 and the headquarters is in Cambridge, Mass. Other partners such as AARP, Harvard Medical School and Pfizer later joined the research effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OptumLabs said it will provide UC researchers and physicians access to one of the nation’s largest databases of medical claims, although it will not be publicly available and patients’ identities will not be revealed. It contains claims information on more than 150 million people going back two decades. It also includes electronic medical records on another 50 million patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one research project, OptumLabs has examined whether scanning the narrative portion of electronic medical records could indicate which patients are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease rather than waiting for physician tests down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is so much depth of knowledge in the University of California system and we are certain when some of that expertise is applied to the data at OptumLabs it will really move us forward,” said Dr. Paul Bleicher, chief executive officer of OptumLabs. “We work on the most difficult problems in health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two organizations also want to use the California office of OptumLabs to lure young data scientists into the medical field rather than lose them to game developers or social media in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is struggling with the fact that Facebook, Google and other tech companies are very attractive and obvious targets for new graduates coming out,” Bleicher said. “This will help bring in UC students to work on our data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>, which publishes \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>, an editorially independent service of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Health Care Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "242950 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=242950",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/09/29/unitedhealth-and-university-of-california-create-new-health-plan-option/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1065,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 27
},
"modified": 1475179324,
"excerpt": "The collaboration comes as hospital systems and insurers are under increasing pressure to forge new alliances aimed at improving care and cutting costs. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The collaboration comes as hospital systems and insurers are under increasing pressure to forge new alliances aimed at improving care and cutting costs. ",
"title": "UnitedHealth, University of California to Create New Health Plan Option | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "UnitedHealth, University of California to Create New Health Plan Option",
"datePublished": "2016-09-29T12:51:12-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-29T13:02:04-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "unitedhealth-and-university-of-california-create-new-health-plan-option",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Chad Terhune\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/242950/unitedhealth-and-university-of-california-create-new-health-plan-option",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The nation’s largest health insurer and the University of California Health system are joining forces to create a new health plan option for employers and expand research into patient data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the 10-year partnership unveiled Thursday, UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the UC system will form an accountable care organization that will be offered to large, self-funded employers statewide. In accountable care organizations, or \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/news/aco-accountable-care-organization-faq/\" target=\"_blank\">ACOs\u003c/a>, physicians, hospitals and an insurer work together to coordinate care, control spending and share savings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The for-profit insurer will also open a research lab in the San Francisco area early next year offering researchers at the state-run health system access to a huge national database of patient records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The collaboration comes as hospital systems and insurers are under increasing pressure from employers, government health programs and their competitors to forge new alliances aimed at improving care and cutting costs. It also reflects the growing importance of data mining to achieve those goals by identifying disease earlier and finding more effective treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal marks UnitedHealth’s continued interest in growing its California business despite its decision in May to leave the state’s health insurance exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company’s Optum unit was recently awarded a five-year contract to manage pharmacy benefits for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and UnitedHealth is expanding its presence in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. The company said it now serves more than 3.5 million Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UC system runs five academic medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Irvine and Davis, including hospitals, medical groups, clinics and other outpatient facilities. They will continue to work with other insurers such as Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California as network providers and in other ACOs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But UnitedHealth offered several advantages compared to its rivals in terms of data-mining capabilities and administrative support for hospitals and physician offices through its consulting unit, said David Kraus, chief contracting and clinical strategy officer for the UC Health system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was unique about UnitedHealth is they are more than just a health plan,” Kraus said. “This collaboration helps us advance things quicker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kraus said the university system and UnitedHealth want to learn from the mistakes of earlier ACOs and offer employers a more centralized approach that can tap into real-time data as patients move through the health care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of employers have a physical health product unrelated to a mental health product unrelated to their wellness program, which is completely unrelated to the pharmacy benefit. We think it needs to be all together, and we get to build this ACO from the ground up,” Kraus said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed. Kraus said a joint governing board will establish the specific financing for individual projects and determine how much each organization contributes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will look at pilots and talk about which ones to invest in and where,” Kraus said. “It could be 80 percent-20 percent or 60-40. We haven’t boxed ourselves into a preordained structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Valentine, vice president and West Coast consulting leader at the health care firm Premier Inc., said the deal brings together two highly regarded organizations, but he said some employers chafe at the high cost of UC facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“UC has to address its whole cost structure,” Valentine said. “They tend to be more expensive so they will need to address pricing to be competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UnitedHealth is playing catch-up in a crowded market. Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, has been the dominant player in California for self-funded employers. In that scenario, large employers have the financial resources to pay their own medical claims. They hire an insurer to administer the health plan and create a provider network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthem had a 37 percent share of the 6.4 million Californians covered by the self-funded market in 2014, according to data from the California Health Care Foundation. Cigna Corp. was second with 24 percent market share, followed by UnitedHealth and Blue Shield of California at 13 percent apiece. (California Healthline is an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HMO giant Kaiser Permanente has a smaller presence in the state’s self-funded market. In the fully insured market for large employers, Kaiser Permanente leads the state with a nearly 50 percent share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new deal, the insurer will establish an office in the San Francisco area for OptumLabs. UnitedHealth founded OptumLabs, a collaborative research center, with the Mayo Clinic in 2013 and the headquarters is in Cambridge, Mass. Other partners such as AARP, Harvard Medical School and Pfizer later joined the research effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OptumLabs said it will provide UC researchers and physicians access to one of the nation’s largest databases of medical claims, although it will not be publicly available and patients’ identities will not be revealed. It contains claims information on more than 150 million people going back two decades. It also includes electronic medical records on another 50 million patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one research project, OptumLabs has examined whether scanning the narrative portion of electronic medical records could indicate which patients are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease rather than waiting for physician tests down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is so much depth of knowledge in the University of California system and we are certain when some of that expertise is applied to the data at OptumLabs it will really move us forward,” said Dr. Paul Bleicher, chief executive officer of OptumLabs. “We work on the most difficult problems in health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two organizations also want to use the California office of OptumLabs to lure young data scientists into the medical field rather than lose them to game developers or social media in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is struggling with the fact that Facebook, Google and other tech companies are very attractive and obvious targets for new graduates coming out,” Bleicher said. “This will help bring in UC students to work on our data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>, which publishes \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>, an editorially independent service of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Health Care Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/242950/unitedhealth-and-university-of-california-create-new-health-plan-option",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_242950"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2963",
"stateofhealth_2519",
"stateofhealth_2965",
"stateofhealth_2964"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_242970",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_237846": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_237846",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "237846",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1474070592000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1474070592,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Covered California Premiums for Small Businesses to Increase Less Than Previous Year",
"title": "Covered California Premiums for Small Businesses to Increase Less Than Previous Year",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Covered California will raise premiums an average 5.9 percent in its 2017 small business health insurance market — a “moderate” rise compared to previous years, exchange officials said Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This rate hike is down from 7.2 percent in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In both individual and small group, we’re building competitive markets where consumers are the winners,” Peter V. Lee, Covered California’s executive director, said Thursday. The rates for next year “demonstrate that markets are working to keep premiums under control and give consumers more choices than they’ve ever had.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approximately 28,000 people have insurance through Covered California’s small business marketplace. That makes it one of the largest small business health coverage programs in the country, according to officials. But it’s still dwarfed by the 1.4 million people covered in the exchange’s individual market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The relatively modest hike in small business premiums contrasts sharply with rate increases in Covered California’s individual market for next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/topics/covered-california\">Covered California\u003c/a> announced that premiums in its individual market \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/covered-california-health-plan-rates-to-jump-13-2-percent-in-2017/\" target=\"_blank\">would jump 13.2 percent\u003c/a> on average next year — a big leap up from the 4 percent average increases Californians had seen in the exchange’s first two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising medical costs and the expiration of two federal programs that helped insurance companies offset expensive claims helped drive the dramatic increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California’s small group market is available to businesses with up to 100 full-time employees. Lee said that while this market has had a slow start, without the same level of attention given to the individual market, interest is growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials have seen a near doubling in the number of agents writing policies for small groups since 2014, Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for some small-business owners, Covered California’s small group market holds very little appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California, an advocacy organization, said most of his group’s members don’t shop in the exchange. He said he hasn’t seen Covered California rates differ much from those in the outside market. “I think the big problem is [business owners] don’t see a reason to [go to Covered California],” Hauge said. “There hasn’t been good marketing around why someone should.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2015 \u003ca href=\"https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-26LL7SR7/\" target=\"_blank\">Small Business California survey\u003c/a>, only 43 percent of the nearly 700 small-business owners queried said they provided health insurance to employees, and only 11 percent of those said they had researched the exchange’s small business options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee said that with the expiration of federal insurer protection programs pushing up 2017 rates in the individual market, “the relatively low increase for small business helps focus attention on what stability can look like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials also announced that starting Jan. 1, Blue Shield will offer a new plan in the exchange’s small business market. Kaiser Permanente also will add coverage in Santa Cruz County for both small businesses and individuals.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "237846 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=237846",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/09/16/covered-california-premiums-for-small-businesses-to-increase-less-than-previous-year/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 522,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 16
},
"modified": 1474070633,
"excerpt": "The relatively modest hike in small business premiums contrasts sharply with rate increases in Covered California’s individual market for next year.\r\n",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The relatively modest hike in small business premiums contrasts sharply with rate increases in Covered California’s individual market for next year.\r\n",
"title": "Covered California Premiums for Small Businesses to Increase Less Than Previous Year | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Covered California Premiums for Small Businesses to Increase Less Than Previous Year",
"datePublished": "2016-09-16T17:03:12-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-16T17:03:53-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "covered-california-premiums-for-small-businesses-to-increase-less-than-previous-year",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "\u003cstrong>Ana B. Ibarra\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/237846/covered-california-premiums-for-small-businesses-to-increase-less-than-previous-year",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Covered California will raise premiums an average 5.9 percent in its 2017 small business health insurance market — a “moderate” rise compared to previous years, exchange officials said Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This rate hike is down from 7.2 percent in 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In both individual and small group, we’re building competitive markets where consumers are the winners,” Peter V. Lee, Covered California’s executive director, said Thursday. The rates for next year “demonstrate that markets are working to keep premiums under control and give consumers more choices than they’ve ever had.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approximately 28,000 people have insurance through Covered California’s small business marketplace. That makes it one of the largest small business health coverage programs in the country, according to officials. But it’s still dwarfed by the 1.4 million people covered in the exchange’s individual market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The relatively modest hike in small business premiums contrasts sharply with rate increases in Covered California’s individual market for next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/topics/covered-california\">Covered California\u003c/a> announced that premiums in its individual market \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/covered-california-health-plan-rates-to-jump-13-2-percent-in-2017/\" target=\"_blank\">would jump 13.2 percent\u003c/a> on average next year — a big leap up from the 4 percent average increases Californians had seen in the exchange’s first two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising medical costs and the expiration of two federal programs that helped insurance companies offset expensive claims helped drive the dramatic increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California’s small group market is available to businesses with up to 100 full-time employees. Lee said that while this market has had a slow start, without the same level of attention given to the individual market, interest is growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials have seen a near doubling in the number of agents writing policies for small groups since 2014, Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for some small-business owners, Covered California’s small group market holds very little appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California, an advocacy organization, said most of his group’s members don’t shop in the exchange. He said he hasn’t seen Covered California rates differ much from those in the outside market. “I think the big problem is [business owners] don’t see a reason to [go to Covered California],” Hauge said. “There hasn’t been good marketing around why someone should.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2015 \u003ca href=\"https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-26LL7SR7/\" target=\"_blank\">Small Business California survey\u003c/a>, only 43 percent of the nearly 700 small-business owners queried said they provided health insurance to employees, and only 11 percent of those said they had researched the exchange’s small business options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee said that with the expiration of federal insurer protection programs pushing up 2017 rates in the individual market, “the relatively low increase for small business helps focus attention on what stability can look like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials also announced that starting Jan. 1, Blue Shield will offer a new plan in the exchange’s small business market. Kaiser Permanente also will add coverage in Santa Cruz County for both small businesses and individuals.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/237846/covered-california-premiums-for-small-businesses-to-increase-less-than-previous-year",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_237846"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_2519",
"stateofhealth_2909",
"stateofhealth_2920"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_237848",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_237123": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_237123",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "237123",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1473869550000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1473869550,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Employees Shouldering More Out-of-Pocket Health Costs",
"title": "Employees Shouldering More Out-of-Pocket Health Costs",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>High deductible health plans are the new normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over half of employees this year have a health insurance policy with a deductible of at least $1,000, according to a survey of employers from the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the continuation of a multiyear trend of companies passing more of the costs of employee health care back onto workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, health insurance premiums for a family covered by an employer health plan rose an average 3 percent this year to $18,142. Of that, employees pay an average of $5,277.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Historically, that's not much of an increase. But it still outpaces the rate of inflation, so it takes a larger chunk of worker income and employer profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's been a gradual sea change in what insurance is for most Americans, from more comprehensive coverage to skimpier coverage,\" says Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covenant Care, a Pensacola, Fla.-based hospice and home health care nonprofit, is one organization that has made the switch. About 450 of its 600 workers now have high-deductible health plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"At Covenant, we pay 80 percent of the costs of the plan and even at that point, there are some business decisions that need to be made regarding what we can afford to do,\" says Pat Holtman, senior manager of human resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the company offsets some of that deductible by putting cash into accounts that workers can use for health care costs. And if employees participate in wellness programs, they get points to pay even more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes doing a health risk assessment at the beginning of the year. \"If they go online and do a wellness assessment, they can accrue points that way,\" Holtman says. \"If they're non-tobacco users there are a certain number of points that are accrued there.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Premiums have risen 20 percent since 2011, the Kaiser survey released Wednesday shows. They rose 31 percent in the previous five years and 63 percent in the five years before that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the continuous increases, companies like Covenant are getting creative, Altman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Your typical employer is using everything in the toolkit to control their premiums,\" he says. They use those wellness programs. They try to help workers manage their chronic illnesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But if you want to bring down the premium increase quickly in any given year, the immediate step you can take is to increase deductibles and other forms of cost sharing,\" Altman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers can lop about 20 percent off insurance premiums simply by raising deductibles from $200 to $1,000, says Dave Anderson, CEO of HealthNow Inc., which runs BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson says companies do think hard before they bump up deductibles because employees don't like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I would say no one goes there lightly,\" he says. \"Many employers have felt like they just had to go in that direction. They had to fix premium costs in some way.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York offers its own employees a high deductible plan. And like Covenant in Florida, it encourages its workers to participate in wellness programs to knock down their share of the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company will pay $500 toward a $1,000 deductible if employees undergo a health risk assessment each year. Anderson says the risk assessment will help employees embrace more healthy behavior and stick with exercise and nutrition plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We believe we'll have that kind of overall reduction in our health care costs,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anderson says high deductibles raise troubling issues as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"And that is whether it is inherently disadvantageous to lower-income employees. And we struggle with that,\" he says. \"A $1,000 deductible if you're making $100,000 is no big deal. If you're making $30,000 a year, a $1,000 deductible is a big deal.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future, Anderson says, he expects employers and insurance companies will have to address that inherent unfairness by offering health plans with deductibles indexed to workers' income.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "237123 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=237123",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/09/14/employees-shouldering-more-out-of-pocket-health-costs/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 675,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 25
},
"modified": 1473869550,
"excerpt": "Premiums have risen 20 percent since 2011, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Premiums have risen 20 percent since 2011, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows. ",
"title": "Employees Shouldering More Out-of-Pocket Health Costs | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Employees Shouldering More Out-of-Pocket Health Costs",
"datePublished": "2016-09-14T09:12:30-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-14T09:12:30-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "employees-shouldering-more-out-of-pocket-health-costs",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Alison Kodjak \u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/\">NPR Shots\u003c/a>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/237123/employees-shouldering-more-out-of-pocket-health-costs",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>High deductible health plans are the new normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over half of employees this year have a health insurance policy with a deductible of at least $1,000, according to a survey of employers from the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the continuation of a multiyear trend of companies passing more of the costs of employee health care back onto workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, health insurance premiums for a family covered by an employer health plan rose an average 3 percent this year to $18,142. Of that, employees pay an average of $5,277.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Historically, that's not much of an increase. But it still outpaces the rate of inflation, so it takes a larger chunk of worker income and employer profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's been a gradual sea change in what insurance is for most Americans, from more comprehensive coverage to skimpier coverage,\" says Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covenant Care, a Pensacola, Fla.-based hospice and home health care nonprofit, is one organization that has made the switch. About 450 of its 600 workers now have high-deductible health plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"At Covenant, we pay 80 percent of the costs of the plan and even at that point, there are some business decisions that need to be made regarding what we can afford to do,\" says Pat Holtman, senior manager of human resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the company offsets some of that deductible by putting cash into accounts that workers can use for health care costs. And if employees participate in wellness programs, they get points to pay even more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes doing a health risk assessment at the beginning of the year. \"If they go online and do a wellness assessment, they can accrue points that way,\" Holtman says. \"If they're non-tobacco users there are a certain number of points that are accrued there.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Premiums have risen 20 percent since 2011, the Kaiser survey released Wednesday shows. They rose 31 percent in the previous five years and 63 percent in the five years before that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the continuous increases, companies like Covenant are getting creative, Altman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Your typical employer is using everything in the toolkit to control their premiums,\" he says. They use those wellness programs. They try to help workers manage their chronic illnesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"But if you want to bring down the premium increase quickly in any given year, the immediate step you can take is to increase deductibles and other forms of cost sharing,\" Altman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers can lop about 20 percent off insurance premiums simply by raising deductibles from $200 to $1,000, says Dave Anderson, CEO of HealthNow Inc., which runs BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anderson says companies do think hard before they bump up deductibles because employees don't like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I would say no one goes there lightly,\" he says. \"Many employers have felt like they just had to go in that direction. They had to fix premium costs in some way.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York offers its own employees a high deductible plan. And like Covenant in Florida, it encourages its workers to participate in wellness programs to knock down their share of the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company will pay $500 toward a $1,000 deductible if employees undergo a health risk assessment each year. Anderson says the risk assessment will help employees embrace more healthy behavior and stick with exercise and nutrition plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We believe we'll have that kind of overall reduction in our health care costs,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Anderson says high deductibles raise troubling issues as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"And that is whether it is inherently disadvantageous to lower-income employees. And we struggle with that,\" he says. \"A $1,000 deductible if you're making $100,000 is no big deal. If you're making $30,000 a year, a $1,000 deductible is a big deal.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future, Anderson says, he expects employers and insurance companies will have to address that inherent unfairness by offering health plans with deductibles indexed to workers' income.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/237123/employees-shouldering-more-out-of-pocket-health-costs",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_237123"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2910",
"stateofhealth_539",
"stateofhealth_2519",
"stateofhealth_2909"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_237126",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_235188": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_235188",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "235188",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1473446409000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1473446409,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "California Insurers May Be Exploiting Outrage Over Drug Prices to Inflate Health Plan Premiums, Consumer Advocates Say",
"title": "California Insurers May Be Exploiting Outrage Over Drug Prices to Inflate Health Plan Premiums, Consumer Advocates Say",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Rising drug costs are often blamed for driving up health insurance premiums, but a major consumer group says the numbers don’t add up — at least in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advocacy group Consumers Union says two of California's largest insurers may be exploiting the outrage over high drug prices to artificially inflate their premiums for individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators are independently examining the issue and pressing both Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California to justify their rate hikes of nearly 20 percent before open enrollment this fall. Together, the insurers cover more than half of enrollees in the state’s insurance exchange, Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the uproar over expensive hepatitis C pills and, more recently, the $600 price tag for EpiPens, the growth in spending on prescription drugs has been slowing. After a 12 percent jump in 2014, drug costs are expected to climb by roughly 7 percent next year, according to federal officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The cost of prescription drugs is an issue,” said Dena Mendelsohn, a staff attorney at Consumers Union in San Francisco. “But pharmaceutical expenses may be the factor most open to exploitation by health plans searching for a Trojan horse with which to usher in excessively priced insurance rates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In detailed comments recently filed with the California Department of Managed Health Care, Consumers Union asked why the cost projections submitted by Anthem and Blue Shield are so much higher than some of their competitors and other industry-wide figures. (The Consumers Union comments are included in rate filing documents \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=XbZWkzRmrkA%24\" target=\"_blank\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=0QtDat9Z%2fL8%24\" target=\"_blank\">here\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Separately, the managed care agency has requested more information from both companies ahead of an Oct. 3 deadline to finish its review into whether their premium increases are reasonable. Blue Shield has proposed an average 19.4 percent increase for about 550,000 individual policyholders, both in the Covered California exchange and outside the marketplace. Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, wants a 17.2 percent increase for nearly 580,000 customers in and outside the exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state agency can pressure the insurers to reduce the increases by calling them into question, but it doesn’t have the authority to block them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeking additional information and clarity from Anthem and Blue Shield on their filings,” said spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola. “We cannot discuss findings until we’ve completed our review.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make the case for substantial rate hikes, both Anthem and Blue Shield cited higher drug spending as a major factor. Anthem forecast a 17.7 percent jump in prescription drug costs for 2017; Blue Shield was close behind at 15.2 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blue Shield said soaring drug costs are one reason it lost money on individual policies in the first half of this year. The company said pharmacy costs on a per-member basis rose more than 30 percent last year in the individual market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not using any sleight of hand to justify rate increases,” said Steve Shivinsky, a spokesman for Blue Shield, a nonprofit health plan based in San Francisco. “Our numbers reflect what we’re experiencing in the market, not some national average or trend. We’re seeing a dramatic inflation in cost for run-of-the-mill drugs like EpiPen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthem declined to answer specific questions about its rates while the state review is pending. In a statement, the company said “factors such as increased use of medical services and added costs of drugs and medical therapies put upward pressure on rates and underscore the additional work that needs to be done to moderate the growth in health care costs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two other big insurers in the California exchange saw things differently, according to their regulatory filings. HMO giant Kaiser Permanente predicts a 6 percent increase in drug costs next year and Health Net Inc. estimated 11 percent. Consumers Union asked regulators to seek a detailed justification for Health Net’s average rate increase of 9.4 percent as well, \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=bSEB7eCDslo%24\" target=\"_blank\">documents\u003c/a> show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Other state exchanges are facing even steeper rate hikes, approaching 60 percent from some major insurers reporting heavy losses under the health law. Consumers Union said the questionable data it found in California may apply to insurers elsewhere and it urges all regulators to conduct a thorough review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think it’s likely happening across the country with insurers using this as an opportunity to raise rates more than they should,” Mendelsohn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many health insurers insist their losses in the individual market are substantial and higher rates are necessary to make the Obamacare marketplaces sustainable for the long term. In crafting 2017 rates, insurers said they had the benefit of detailed data on exchange customers for the first time, and it showed they had underpriced the coverage compared to the services used by members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drug costs are just one factor pushing up premiums. Another is the discontinuation of a federal reinsurance program later this year that helps insurers with large claims. Also, many companies have complained about higher than expected costs for people who sign up outside the regular open enrollment period, citing special circumstances such as a job loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data and several industry reports suggest that drug costs are leveling off nationwide after a spike from several high-priced hepatitis C medications bursting on the market. Prescription drug spending grew 3.9 percent for the past 12 months through July, according to the Altarum Institute. That’s down from 8.5 percent for the previous year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing a moderation of the cost trend,” said Barbara Gniewek, a partner and health benefits expert at consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The hepatitis C drugs were a tsunami and really caught people off guard. But I don’t see those types of blockbusters in the pipeline right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gniewek said the drug cost projections from Anthem and Blue Shield are outliers. “I haven’t seen numbers that high,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other health policy experts, however, said there’s ample evidence that drug costs are forcing premiums higher, particularly in the more volatile individual market, and insurers might have good reason to fear the worst from drug makers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though there has been some moderation in drug costs, I don’t think insurers have any confidence it will last,” said Paul Ginsburg, a health economist and professor at the University of Southern California. “They are waiting for the next major drug launch. They were burned by hepatitis C and might be more conservative now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s health exchange negotiated the rate increases with Blue Shield and Anthem, and the agency vetted them before they were announced in July. The two big insurers drove the statewide rate increase on the exchange to 13.2 percent for next year, a sharp uptick from 4 percent average increases the previous two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendelsohn questioned why large insurers such as Anthem and Blue Shield can’t use their market power to better control pharmacy costs and whether the companies are fully accounting for the rebates they receive from drug manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shivinsky acknowledged that there’s more Blue Shield could do to address drug prices. “We’re looking at changes in our formulary and how we purchase drugs in the future,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "235188 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=235188",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/09/09/california-insurers-may-be-exploiting-outrage-over-drug-prices-to-inflate-health-plan-premiums-consumer-advocates-say/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1254,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 27
},
"modified": 1473446409,
"excerpt": "State regulators are independently examining the issue and pressing both Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California to justify their rate hikes. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "State regulators are independently examining the issue and pressing both Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California to justify their rate hikes. ",
"title": "California Insurers May Be Exploiting Outrage Over Drug Prices to Inflate Health Plan Premiums, Consumer Advocates Say | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "California Insurers May Be Exploiting Outrage Over Drug Prices to Inflate Health Plan Premiums, Consumer Advocates Say",
"datePublished": "2016-09-09T11:40:09-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-09T11:40:09-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-insurers-may-be-exploiting-outrage-over-drug-prices-to-inflate-health-plan-premiums-consumer-advocates-say",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "\u003cstrong>Chad Terhune\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/235188/california-insurers-may-be-exploiting-outrage-over-drug-prices-to-inflate-health-plan-premiums-consumer-advocates-say",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Rising drug costs are often blamed for driving up health insurance premiums, but a major consumer group says the numbers don’t add up — at least in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advocacy group Consumers Union says two of California's largest insurers may be exploiting the outrage over high drug prices to artificially inflate their premiums for individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators are independently examining the issue and pressing both Anthem Inc. and Blue Shield of California to justify their rate hikes of nearly 20 percent before open enrollment this fall. Together, the insurers cover more than half of enrollees in the state’s insurance exchange, Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the uproar over expensive hepatitis C pills and, more recently, the $600 price tag for EpiPens, the growth in spending on prescription drugs has been slowing. After a 12 percent jump in 2014, drug costs are expected to climb by roughly 7 percent next year, according to federal officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The cost of prescription drugs is an issue,” said Dena Mendelsohn, a staff attorney at Consumers Union in San Francisco. “But pharmaceutical expenses may be the factor most open to exploitation by health plans searching for a Trojan horse with which to usher in excessively priced insurance rates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In detailed comments recently filed with the California Department of Managed Health Care, Consumers Union asked why the cost projections submitted by Anthem and Blue Shield are so much higher than some of their competitors and other industry-wide figures. (The Consumers Union comments are included in rate filing documents \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=XbZWkzRmrkA%24\" target=\"_blank\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=0QtDat9Z%2fL8%24\" target=\"_blank\">here\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Separately, the managed care agency has requested more information from both companies ahead of an Oct. 3 deadline to finish its review into whether their premium increases are reasonable. Blue Shield has proposed an average 19.4 percent increase for about 550,000 individual policyholders, both in the Covered California exchange and outside the marketplace. Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, wants a 17.2 percent increase for nearly 580,000 customers in and outside the exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state agency can pressure the insurers to reduce the increases by calling them into question, but it doesn’t have the authority to block them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeking additional information and clarity from Anthem and Blue Shield on their filings,” said spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola. “We cannot discuss findings until we’ve completed our review.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make the case for substantial rate hikes, both Anthem and Blue Shield cited higher drug spending as a major factor. Anthem forecast a 17.7 percent jump in prescription drug costs for 2017; Blue Shield was close behind at 15.2 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blue Shield said soaring drug costs are one reason it lost money on individual policies in the first half of this year. The company said pharmacy costs on a per-member basis rose more than 30 percent last year in the individual market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not using any sleight of hand to justify rate increases,” said Steve Shivinsky, a spokesman for Blue Shield, a nonprofit health plan based in San Francisco. “Our numbers reflect what we’re experiencing in the market, not some national average or trend. We’re seeing a dramatic inflation in cost for run-of-the-mill drugs like EpiPen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthem declined to answer specific questions about its rates while the state review is pending. In a statement, the company said “factors such as increased use of medical services and added costs of drugs and medical therapies put upward pressure on rates and underscore the additional work that needs to be done to moderate the growth in health care costs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two other big insurers in the California exchange saw things differently, according to their regulatory filings. HMO giant Kaiser Permanente predicts a 6 percent increase in drug costs next year and Health Net Inc. estimated 11 percent. Consumers Union asked regulators to seek a detailed justification for Health Net’s average rate increase of 9.4 percent as well, \u003ca href=\"http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/RateReview/Detail.aspx?lrh=bSEB7eCDslo%24\" target=\"_blank\">documents\u003c/a> show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Other state exchanges are facing even steeper rate hikes, approaching 60 percent from some major insurers reporting heavy losses under the health law. Consumers Union said the questionable data it found in California may apply to insurers elsewhere and it urges all regulators to conduct a thorough review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think it’s likely happening across the country with insurers using this as an opportunity to raise rates more than they should,” Mendelsohn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many health insurers insist their losses in the individual market are substantial and higher rates are necessary to make the Obamacare marketplaces sustainable for the long term. In crafting 2017 rates, insurers said they had the benefit of detailed data on exchange customers for the first time, and it showed they had underpriced the coverage compared to the services used by members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drug costs are just one factor pushing up premiums. Another is the discontinuation of a federal reinsurance program later this year that helps insurers with large claims. Also, many companies have complained about higher than expected costs for people who sign up outside the regular open enrollment period, citing special circumstances such as a job loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal data and several industry reports suggest that drug costs are leveling off nationwide after a spike from several high-priced hepatitis C medications bursting on the market. Prescription drug spending grew 3.9 percent for the past 12 months through July, according to the Altarum Institute. That’s down from 8.5 percent for the previous year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing a moderation of the cost trend,” said Barbara Gniewek, a partner and health benefits expert at consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The hepatitis C drugs were a tsunami and really caught people off guard. But I don’t see those types of blockbusters in the pipeline right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gniewek said the drug cost projections from Anthem and Blue Shield are outliers. “I haven’t seen numbers that high,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other health policy experts, however, said there’s ample evidence that drug costs are forcing premiums higher, particularly in the more volatile individual market, and insurers might have good reason to fear the worst from drug makers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though there has been some moderation in drug costs, I don’t think insurers have any confidence it will last,” said Paul Ginsburg, a health economist and professor at the University of Southern California. “They are waiting for the next major drug launch. They were burned by hepatitis C and might be more conservative now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s health exchange negotiated the rate increases with Blue Shield and Anthem, and the agency vetted them before they were announced in July. The two big insurers drove the statewide rate increase on the exchange to 13.2 percent for next year, a sharp uptick from 4 percent average increases the previous two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendelsohn questioned why large insurers such as Anthem and Blue Shield can’t use their market power to better control pharmacy costs and whether the companies are fully accounting for the rebates they receive from drug manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shivinsky acknowledged that there’s more Blue Shield could do to address drug prices. “We’re looking at changes in our formulary and how we purchase drugs in the future,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/235188/california-insurers-may-be-exploiting-outrage-over-drug-prices-to-inflate-health-plan-premiums-consumer-advocates-say",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_235188"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2698",
"stateofhealth_228",
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_2650",
"stateofhealth_2640",
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_2519"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_235210",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_234725": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_234725",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "234725",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1473355848000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1473355848,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Glaring Disparities in Health Plan Benefits Persist Despite Federal and State Efforts",
"title": "Glaring Disparities in Health Plan Benefits Persist Despite Federal and State Efforts",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Tracey Stahl lost part of a leg to bone cancer last fall, and she has to wince through bouts of crippling pain from an ill-fitting artificial limb because of a strange health insurance limit: Her plan covers just one limb per lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She now has to weigh whether to dump the nearly $9,000 cost of a new leg on her credit card as she fights her insurance company over the restriction. \"I feel — it's embarrassing to say — paralyzed about what to do,\" said Stahl, from her home in Penfield, New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caiti Riley's left leg was amputated below the knee at age 4 due to a rare birth defect. The San Antonio resident is 31 now and covered by the best insurance she's ever had. Her plan is paying most of the roughly $5,000 bill for a new running leg to complement the one she uses every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I work out every day, there's nothing really that I can't do now,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glaring differences in insurance coverage persist for amputees, children with autism and others in need of certain expensive treatments even after the Affordable Care Act set new standards as part of its push to expand and improve coverage, and despite efforts by states to mandate coverage for some treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These differences don't develop simply because some people pay more for better coverage. Instead, they stem from random factors like what state someone lives in or who happens to provide their coverage — and often people can do nothing about it. The federal health care law largely leaves decisions on what actually gets covered up to states or employers who provide insurance for their workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These gaps can bury patients in debt or force them to skip care. And they may become more common as health care costs continue to rise and insurers and employers look for ways to control that expense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researcher Sabrina Corlette thinks nothing short of federal action can close these coverage gaps, and she doesn't see that happening anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think you would need to see Congress say, 'Ok, we need more uniformity here,'\" said Corlette, a Georgetown Health Policy Institute professor. \"And I just don't see this Congress or any near-term Congress stepping in and wanting to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States have passed about 1,800 mandates requiring the coverage of various treatments or conditions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But those mandates don't extend beyond state borders, and they don't apply to the self-funded coverage offered by nearly all large employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North Carolina, for example, recently became one of 44 states to require coverage of autism treatments — and it won't help Iris Castillo one bit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Raleigh, North Carolina, resident said it felt like a cold bucket of water had been tossed on her when she learned that insurance from her new job won't cover applied behavior analysis therapy for her 9-year-old son, Alex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hours of this daily therapy, which is a standard treatment for autistic children, have helped Alex learn simple tasks like how to brush his teeth or say hi to another kid. Castillo worries that her son will regress if treatment stops. But it can cost more than $40,000 a year, far beyond what Castillo's family can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You don't feel like you're in control,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her employer's coverage is self-funded, which means it pays its own health care bills instead of buying coverage from an insurer. That also means it doesn't have to comply with most state coverage mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers have been slowly switching to this type of coverage for several years to help control what has become one of their largest expenses and to avoid some of the requirements imposed by the ACA, said Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant and former insurance executive. He expects gaps or differences in coverage to become more common as health expenses grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurers and employers routinely cover organ transplants, heart procedures and other expensive surgeries. But coverage still varies widely for a range of patients that also includes people recovering from eating disorders like anorexia and women who need breast reduction surgery to ease back pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of a particular treatment, the need for it in a covered population and lingering disagreements over necessity help explain some coverage differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bariatric surgery, which can improve the health of obese patients by limiting food intake, can cost $7,000 to $30,000. Coverage is improving, and Dr. John Morton estimates that about 75 percent of patients who need the surgery have some insurance for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the quality of that coverage varies widely, according to the Stanford School of Medicine surgeon. Some plans only cover the procedure for severely obese patients, while others may charge deductibles of around $10,000, which can dissuade many from having surgery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An annual survey of large employers by the benefits firm Mercer found that 40 percent offered no coverage for infertility treatment last year. Some companies don't view it as essential to a person's health, while others with an eye toward attracting and keeping good workers, have started offering the coverage to help LGBT patients conceive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We see a lot of variation between employers, and it's extremely confusing to the consumer,\" said Dr. David Kaplan, a senior partner at Mercer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracey Stahl, who lost her leg to cancer, got a prosthesis in January, but her leg shrank so the artificial limb no longer fits. This forces her to use crutches or a wheelchair when she has to walk more than a short distance. If the pain grows too intense, she retreats to bed and keeps her leg elevated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She bought her coverage on New York's public insurance exchange. Her insurer, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, said the coverage it sells there follows a model set by the state. The insurer rejected Stahl's claim for a new limb in May and then rejected her appeal in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, Caiti Riley said her previous insurance capped limb coverage at $2,500 every four years, which she likened to \"a smack in the face.\" Now her coverage is so good she says she almost feels bad about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know what the challenges are,\" she said. \"If you go out and get in a car accident and lose your leg, you're not going to be prepared for something like this.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "234725 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=234725",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/09/08/glaring-disparities-in-health-plan-benefits-persist-despite-federal-and-state-efforts/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1094,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 28
},
"modified": 1473355848,
"excerpt": "Differences in coverage stem from factors like what state someone lives in or who happens to provide their health plan.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Differences in coverage stem from factors like what state someone lives in or who happens to provide their health plan.",
"title": "Glaring Disparities in Health Plan Benefits Persist Despite Federal and State Efforts | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Glaring Disparities in Health Plan Benefits Persist Despite Federal and State Efforts",
"datePublished": "2016-09-08T10:30:48-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-08T10:30:48-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "glaring-disparities-in-health-plan-benefits-persist-despite-federal-and-state-efforts",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Tom Murphy, Associated Press ",
"path": "/stateofhealth/234725/glaring-disparities-in-health-plan-benefits-persist-despite-federal-and-state-efforts",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tracey Stahl lost part of a leg to bone cancer last fall, and she has to wince through bouts of crippling pain from an ill-fitting artificial limb because of a strange health insurance limit: Her plan covers just one limb per lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She now has to weigh whether to dump the nearly $9,000 cost of a new leg on her credit card as she fights her insurance company over the restriction. \"I feel — it's embarrassing to say — paralyzed about what to do,\" said Stahl, from her home in Penfield, New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caiti Riley's left leg was amputated below the knee at age 4 due to a rare birth defect. The San Antonio resident is 31 now and covered by the best insurance she's ever had. Her plan is paying most of the roughly $5,000 bill for a new running leg to complement the one she uses every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I work out every day, there's nothing really that I can't do now,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glaring differences in insurance coverage persist for amputees, children with autism and others in need of certain expensive treatments even after the Affordable Care Act set new standards as part of its push to expand and improve coverage, and despite efforts by states to mandate coverage for some treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These differences don't develop simply because some people pay more for better coverage. Instead, they stem from random factors like what state someone lives in or who happens to provide their coverage — and often people can do nothing about it. The federal health care law largely leaves decisions on what actually gets covered up to states or employers who provide insurance for their workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These gaps can bury patients in debt or force them to skip care. And they may become more common as health care costs continue to rise and insurers and employers look for ways to control that expense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researcher Sabrina Corlette thinks nothing short of federal action can close these coverage gaps, and she doesn't see that happening anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think you would need to see Congress say, 'Ok, we need more uniformity here,'\" said Corlette, a Georgetown Health Policy Institute professor. \"And I just don't see this Congress or any near-term Congress stepping in and wanting to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States have passed about 1,800 mandates requiring the coverage of various treatments or conditions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But those mandates don't extend beyond state borders, and they don't apply to the self-funded coverage offered by nearly all large employers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North Carolina, for example, recently became one of 44 states to require coverage of autism treatments — and it won't help Iris Castillo one bit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Raleigh, North Carolina, resident said it felt like a cold bucket of water had been tossed on her when she learned that insurance from her new job won't cover applied behavior analysis therapy for her 9-year-old son, Alex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hours of this daily therapy, which is a standard treatment for autistic children, have helped Alex learn simple tasks like how to brush his teeth or say hi to another kid. Castillo worries that her son will regress if treatment stops. But it can cost more than $40,000 a year, far beyond what Castillo's family can afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You don't feel like you're in control,\" she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her employer's coverage is self-funded, which means it pays its own health care bills instead of buying coverage from an insurer. That also means it doesn't have to comply with most state coverage mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers have been slowly switching to this type of coverage for several years to help control what has become one of their largest expenses and to avoid some of the requirements imposed by the ACA, said Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant and former insurance executive. He expects gaps or differences in coverage to become more common as health expenses grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurers and employers routinely cover organ transplants, heart procedures and other expensive surgeries. But coverage still varies widely for a range of patients that also includes people recovering from eating disorders like anorexia and women who need breast reduction surgery to ease back pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost of a particular treatment, the need for it in a covered population and lingering disagreements over necessity help explain some coverage differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bariatric surgery, which can improve the health of obese patients by limiting food intake, can cost $7,000 to $30,000. Coverage is improving, and Dr. John Morton estimates that about 75 percent of patients who need the surgery have some insurance for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the quality of that coverage varies widely, according to the Stanford School of Medicine surgeon. Some plans only cover the procedure for severely obese patients, while others may charge deductibles of around $10,000, which can dissuade many from having surgery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An annual survey of large employers by the benefits firm Mercer found that 40 percent offered no coverage for infertility treatment last year. Some companies don't view it as essential to a person's health, while others with an eye toward attracting and keeping good workers, have started offering the coverage to help LGBT patients conceive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We see a lot of variation between employers, and it's extremely confusing to the consumer,\" said Dr. David Kaplan, a senior partner at Mercer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tracey Stahl, who lost her leg to cancer, got a prosthesis in January, but her leg shrank so the artificial limb no longer fits. This forces her to use crutches or a wheelchair when she has to walk more than a short distance. If the pain grows too intense, she retreats to bed and keeps her leg elevated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She bought her coverage on New York's public insurance exchange. Her insurer, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, said the coverage it sells there follows a model set by the state. The insurer rejected Stahl's claim for a new limb in May and then rejected her appeal in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Texas, Caiti Riley said her previous insurance capped limb coverage at $2,500 every four years, which she likened to \"a smack in the face.\" Now her coverage is so good she says she almost feels bad about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I know what the challenges are,\" she said. \"If you go out and get in a car accident and lose your leg, you're not going to be prepared for something like this.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/234725/glaring-disparities-in-health-plan-benefits-persist-despite-federal-and-state-efforts",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_234725"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_38",
"stateofhealth_2885",
"stateofhealth_2887",
"stateofhealth_2886",
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_2845",
"stateofhealth_2519"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_234726",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_231161": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_231161",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "231161",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1472668310000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth",
"term": 2492
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1472668310,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Update: Lawmakers Pass Measure to End Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills",
"title": "Update: Lawmakers Pass Measure to End Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills",
"headTitle": "Price Check | State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 5:00 p.m., Wednesday Aug. 31:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe California Assembly passed AB 72 late this afternoon. The bill heads next to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. It passed by a huge margin with bipartisan support, unlike a similar bill last year which stalled by three votes on the last day of the 2015 legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original Post:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWhen Nancy Randle prepared for the birth of her third child, she was careful to play by the health insurance rules: She got referrals and went to her insurer's recommended hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What she didn’t know was that some doctors, like the one who did a hearing test on her baby, were out of network. She didn’t think to ask. After she came home, she got a surprise bill for that test: $250.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I didn’t even realize this was a loophole or that it would affect me,\" Randle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/280779549\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loophole occurs when out-of-network doctors -- anesthesiologists, radiologists and others -- provide care at a patient's in-network hospital or clinic, but charge their out-of-network fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To address the issue, a bipartisan group of state legislators introduced AB 72 to put a stop to surprise, out-of-network bills for non-emergency services. Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) is one of the bill's six co-authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This bill will be the first of its kind in terms of strength of consumer protections, and it will be a model for the rest of the nation,\" Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If signed into law, patients who go to in-network health facilities will pay in-network prices. Insurance companies would compensate out-of-network doctors for treatment, either at the average procedure rate for the region or at 125 percent of what Medicare pays, whichever is greatest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bill opposition comes from groups representing doctors, like the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Jane Orient is the executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The quality of care will go down, and patients will have fewer choices,\" Orient said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says doctors won’t be compensated at the rate they need to keep their practices running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar bill failed on the final day of last year’s legislative session, but AB 72 looks like it will see a different outcome, given revisions to last year’s text and wider-ranging support.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "231161 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=231161",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/31/lawmakers-take-up-measure-to-end-surprise-out-of-network-medical-bills/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 431,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 15
},
"modified": 1472688848,
"excerpt": "The Assembly passed AB 72 by a wide margin and with bipartisan support late Wednesday afternoon.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The Assembly passed AB 72 by a wide margin and with bipartisan support late Wednesday afternoon.",
"title": "Update: Lawmakers Pass Measure to End Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Update: Lawmakers Pass Measure to End Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills",
"datePublished": "2016-08-31T11:31:50-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-08-31T17:14:08-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "lawmakers-take-up-measure-to-end-surprise-out-of-network-medical-bills",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/231161/lawmakers-take-up-measure-to-end-surprise-out-of-network-medical-bills",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 5:00 p.m., Wednesday Aug. 31:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe California Assembly passed AB 72 late this afternoon. The bill heads next to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. It passed by a huge margin with bipartisan support, unlike a similar bill last year which stalled by three votes on the last day of the 2015 legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original Post:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWhen Nancy Randle prepared for the birth of her third child, she was careful to play by the health insurance rules: She got referrals and went to her insurer's recommended hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What she didn’t know was that some doctors, like the one who did a hearing test on her baby, were out of network. She didn’t think to ask. After she came home, she got a surprise bill for that test: $250.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I didn’t even realize this was a loophole or that it would affect me,\" Randle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/280779549&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/280779549'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loophole occurs when out-of-network doctors -- anesthesiologists, radiologists and others -- provide care at a patient's in-network hospital or clinic, but charge their out-of-network fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To address the issue, a bipartisan group of state legislators introduced AB 72 to put a stop to surprise, out-of-network bills for non-emergency services. Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) is one of the bill's six co-authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This bill will be the first of its kind in terms of strength of consumer protections, and it will be a model for the rest of the nation,\" Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If signed into law, patients who go to in-network health facilities will pay in-network prices. Insurance companies would compensate out-of-network doctors for treatment, either at the average procedure rate for the region or at 125 percent of what Medicare pays, whichever is greatest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bill opposition comes from groups representing doctors, like the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Jane Orient is the executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The quality of care will go down, and patients will have fewer choices,\" Orient said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says doctors won’t be compensated at the rate they need to keep their practices running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar bill failed on the final day of last year’s legislative session, but AB 72 looks like it will see a different outcome, given revisions to last year’s text and wider-ranging support.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/231161/lawmakers-take-up-measure-to-end-surprise-out-of-network-medical-bills",
"authors": [
"8648"
],
"series": [
"stateofhealth_2492"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_11",
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2872",
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_2874",
"stateofhealth_2519",
"stateofhealth_2873"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_231162",
"label": "stateofhealth_2492"
},
"stateofhealth_229191": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_229191",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "229191",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1472241987000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1472241987,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "The Tedious Act of Updating Health Provider Directories",
"title": "The Tedious Act of Updating Health Provider Directories",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>State Sen. Ed Hernandez and his wife Diane are optometrists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diane handles some insurance matters for their practice, and she recently told him that a health plan had emailed to request more information: It wanted confirmation that they were both participating providers, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t say anything because I was afraid she’d be mad at me,” says Hernandez, (D-West Covina.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the additional paperwork was probably his doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez, who chairs the \u003ca href=\"http://shea.senate.ca.gov/\">Senate Health Committee\u003c/a>, is author of a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB137\">newly enacted state law\u003c/a> that aims to improve provider directories, long riddled with out-of-date and inaccurate information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the law, insurance companies – and health care providers like the Hernandezes – must comply with new requirements to keep directories updated and accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, which took effect July 1, also gives you some firepower to fight surprise medical bills that result from directory errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law’s reach is broad: It applies to Covered California and private market plans, as well as Medi-Cal managed care and most job-based insurance policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inaccuracy of directories, Hernandez says, “has been and … seems to continue to be a problem that needs to be rectified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/7/1160.abstract?sid=5fb917a3-6bf9-4127-8250-9c5798b67fd6\">A recent study\u003c/a> in the journal Health Affairs found that provider directories for some health plans sold through Covered California and in the private market \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/inaccurate-provider-lists-a-major-barrier-to-care-study-finds/\">are so inaccurate\u003c/a> that they create a “disheartening” situation for consumers trying to find doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That finding was confirmed this month when the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) announced that \u003ca href=\"http://dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/303_nr_follow%20up_080116.pdf\">Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/043_nr_follow%20up_080116.pdf\">Blue Shield of California\u003c/a> – which were previously fined for inaccuracies in their Covered California provider directories – still had “disappointing” directory problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are optimistic and hopeful that the law … will help,” says department director Shelley Rouillard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the law’s new rules:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• Health plans must update their printed directories at least every quarter and their online directories at least every week if providers report changes.\u003cbr>\n• Provider directories must be posted online and be available to anyone, not just enrollees. Print directories must be available upon request.\u003cbr>\n• The directories must “prominently” display directions for consumers who want to report inaccuracies. Upon receiving complaints, plans have 30 business days to makes changes, if necessary.\u003cbr>\n• Providers must inform plans within five business days if they are no longer accepting new patients – or, alternately, if they will start accepting them.\u003cbr>\n• Health plans can delay payments to providers who fail to respond to attempts to verify information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also gives consumers recourse. Let’s say you use a provider directory to find a doctor but you’re billed the out-of-network price because the directory was wrong. In that case, health plans must reimburse you the amount beyond what you would have paid to see an in-network doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you find yourself in this situation, first take your complaint to your plan, advises DMHC’s Rouillard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You will have at least 180 days from the date you received the bill to file a grievance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’ll probably have to make a case” to the plan, Rouillard says. “You should explain what you did, when you looked at the directory, and that you relied on that information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Documentation could help your case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s something to consider when you’re searching for a provider in the first place. It wouldn’t hurt to save a screen shot from the online directory showing the doctor is in-network, or take detailed notes if you call your plan’s customer service line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Keep copies of everything, and note the date, time and name of anyone you speak to,” says Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plans have 30 days to investigate and respond to your complaint. If the situation isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, your next step is to take your grievance to a regulator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The correspondence you receive from your plan during the grievance process will explain who your regulator is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or start with the DMHC, which regulates most health plans in California. You can submit an online complaint at \u003ca href=\"http://www.healthhelp.ca.gov/\">www.HealthHelp.ca.gov\u003c/a> or call the department’s help center at 888-466-2219.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s other health insurance regulator is the Department of Insurance. Its consumer hotline is 800-927-4357, or you can file a complaint at\u003ca href=\"http://www.insurance.ca.gov/\"> www.insurance.ca.gov\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most Californians with job-based insurance are covered by this law, some aren’t. If you have a plan through your employer and are struggling with directory errors, the regulators – or your human resources department – can tell you where you stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law went into effect, the DMHC has helped one consumer get reimbursed as a result of this law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But “I’m hoping consumers don’t have to go through process. I’m hoping the directories are accurate,” Hernandez says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might take time to get there, as health plans implement the new requirements – as well as others that will take effect in the coming months – and work with providers to update the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is so early and there are so many errors,” Rouillard says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Questions for Emily: AskEmily@kff.org\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Click \u003ca href=\"http://centerforhealthreporting.org/project/answers-consumer-questions-about-obamacare\">here \u003c/a>to find previous Ask Emily columns.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>, which publishes California Healthline, a service of the California HealthCare Foundation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "229191 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=229191",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/26/the-tedious-act-of-updating-health-provider-directories/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 945,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 35
},
"modified": 1472248895,
"excerpt": "A new law could get you money back if you were charged out-of-network prices after going to a medical provider listed in your health plan’s network.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A new law could get you money back if you were charged out-of-network prices after going to a medical provider listed in your health plan’s network.",
"title": "The Tedious Act of Updating Health Provider Directories | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "The Tedious Act of Updating Health Provider Directories",
"datePublished": "2016-08-26T13:06:27-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-08-26T15:01:35-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "the-tedious-act-of-updating-health-provider-directories",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "\u003cstrong>Emily Bazar\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/author/emily-bazar\"/> California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/229191/the-tedious-act-of-updating-health-provider-directories",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State Sen. Ed Hernandez and his wife Diane are optometrists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diane handles some insurance matters for their practice, and she recently told him that a health plan had emailed to request more information: It wanted confirmation that they were both participating providers, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t say anything because I was afraid she’d be mad at me,” says Hernandez, (D-West Covina.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the additional paperwork was probably his doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez, who chairs the \u003ca href=\"http://shea.senate.ca.gov/\">Senate Health Committee\u003c/a>, is author of a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB137\">newly enacted state law\u003c/a> that aims to improve provider directories, long riddled with out-of-date and inaccurate information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the law, insurance companies – and health care providers like the Hernandezes – must comply with new requirements to keep directories updated and accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, which took effect July 1, also gives you some firepower to fight surprise medical bills that result from directory errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law’s reach is broad: It applies to Covered California and private market plans, as well as Medi-Cal managed care and most job-based insurance policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inaccuracy of directories, Hernandez says, “has been and … seems to continue to be a problem that needs to be rectified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/7/1160.abstract?sid=5fb917a3-6bf9-4127-8250-9c5798b67fd6\">A recent study\u003c/a> in the journal Health Affairs found that provider directories for some health plans sold through Covered California and in the private market \u003ca href=\"http://californiahealthline.org/news/inaccurate-provider-lists-a-major-barrier-to-care-study-finds/\">are so inaccurate\u003c/a> that they create a “disheartening” situation for consumers trying to find doctors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That finding was confirmed this month when the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) announced that \u003ca href=\"http://dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/303_nr_follow%20up_080116.pdf\">Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/043_nr_follow%20up_080116.pdf\">Blue Shield of California\u003c/a> – which were previously fined for inaccuracies in their Covered California provider directories – still had “disappointing” directory problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are optimistic and hopeful that the law … will help,” says department director Shelley Rouillard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the law’s new rules:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• Health plans must update their printed directories at least every quarter and their online directories at least every week if providers report changes.\u003cbr>\n• Provider directories must be posted online and be available to anyone, not just enrollees. Print directories must be available upon request.\u003cbr>\n• The directories must “prominently” display directions for consumers who want to report inaccuracies. Upon receiving complaints, plans have 30 business days to makes changes, if necessary.\u003cbr>\n• Providers must inform plans within five business days if they are no longer accepting new patients – or, alternately, if they will start accepting them.\u003cbr>\n• Health plans can delay payments to providers who fail to respond to attempts to verify information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also gives consumers recourse. Let’s say you use a provider directory to find a doctor but you’re billed the out-of-network price because the directory was wrong. In that case, health plans must reimburse you the amount beyond what you would have paid to see an in-network doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you find yourself in this situation, first take your complaint to your plan, advises DMHC’s Rouillard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You will have at least 180 days from the date you received the bill to file a grievance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’ll probably have to make a case” to the plan, Rouillard says. “You should explain what you did, when you looked at the directory, and that you relied on that information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Documentation could help your case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s something to consider when you’re searching for a provider in the first place. It wouldn’t hurt to save a screen shot from the online directory showing the doctor is in-network, or take detailed notes if you call your plan’s customer service line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Keep copies of everything, and note the date, time and name of anyone you speak to,” says Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plans have 30 days to investigate and respond to your complaint. If the situation isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, your next step is to take your grievance to a regulator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The correspondence you receive from your plan during the grievance process will explain who your regulator is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or start with the DMHC, which regulates most health plans in California. You can submit an online complaint at \u003ca href=\"http://www.healthhelp.ca.gov/\">www.HealthHelp.ca.gov\u003c/a> or call the department’s help center at 888-466-2219.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s other health insurance regulator is the Department of Insurance. Its consumer hotline is 800-927-4357, or you can file a complaint at\u003ca href=\"http://www.insurance.ca.gov/\"> www.insurance.ca.gov\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most Californians with job-based insurance are covered by this law, some aren’t. If you have a plan through your employer and are struggling with directory errors, the regulators – or your human resources department – can tell you where you stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law went into effect, the DMHC has helped one consumer get reimbursed as a result of this law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But “I’m hoping consumers don’t have to go through process. I’m hoping the directories are accurate,” Hernandez says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might take time to get there, as health plans implement the new requirements – as well as others that will take effect in the coming months – and work with providers to update the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is so early and there are so many errors,” Rouillard says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Questions for Emily: AskEmily@kff.org\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Click \u003ca href=\"http://centerforhealthreporting.org/project/answers-consumer-questions-about-obamacare\">here \u003c/a>to find previous Ask Emily columns.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced by \u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>, which publishes California Healthline, a service of the California HealthCare Foundation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/229191/the-tedious-act-of-updating-health-provider-directories",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_229191"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_1"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_229193",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_228587": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_228587",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "228587",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1472074233000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1472074233,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Worries as the For-Profit World Moves into Elder Care",
"title": "Worries as the For-Profit World Moves into Elder Care",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>DENVER — Inside a senior center here, nestled along a bustling commercial strip, Vivian Malveaux scans her bingo card for a winning number. Her 81-year-old eyes are warm, lively and occasionally set adrift by the dementia plundering her mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of elderly men and women — some in wheelchairs, others whose hands tremble involuntarily — gather excitedly around the game tables. After bingo, there is more entertainment and activities: Yahtzee, tile-painting, beading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this is no linoleum-floored community center reeking of bleach. Instead, it’s one of eight vanguard centers \u003ca href=\"http://myinnovage.org/\">owned by InnovAge\u003c/a>, a company based in Denver with ambitious plans. With the support of private equity money, InnovAge aims to aggressively expand a little-known Medicare program that will pay to keep older and disabled Americans out of nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, only nonprofits were allowed to run programs like these. But a year ago, the government flipped the switch, opening the program to for-profit companies as well, ending one of the last remaining holdouts to commercialism in health care. The hope is that the profit motive will expand the services faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanging over all the promise, though, is the question of whether for-profit companies are well-suited to this line of work, long the province of nonprofit do-gooders. Critics point out that the business of caring for poor and frail people is marred with abuse. Already, new ideas for lowering the cost of the program have started circulating. In Silicon Valley, for example, some eager entrepreneurs are pushing plans that call for a higher reliance on video calls instead of in-person doctor visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228689\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 594px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-228689\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844.jpg\" alt=\"An elderly woman pushing her walker.\" width=\"594\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844.jpg 594w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844-400x281.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An elderly woman pushing her walker. \u003ccite>(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The business appeal is simple: A baby boom-propelled surge in government health care spending is coming. Medicare enrollment is expected to grow by 30 million people in the next two decades, and many of those people are potential future clients. Adding to the allure are hefty profit margins for programs like these — as high as 15 percent, compared with an average of 2 percent among nursing homes — and geographic monopolies that are all but guaranteed by state Medicaid agencies to ensure the solvency of providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the program, known as PACE, or the\u003ca href=\"https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/long-term-services-and-supports/integrating-care/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly-pace/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly-pace.html\"> Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly\u003c/a>, is to help frail, older Americans live longer and more happily in their own homes, by providing comprehensive medical care and intensive social support. It also promises to save Medicare and Medicaid millions of dollars by keeping those people out of nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, though, the program has failed to catch on, with only 40,000 people enrolled as of January of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PACE is still a secret in the minds of the public,” Andy Slavitt, Medicare’s acting administrator, said at the National PACE Association meeting in April. The challenge, he said, was to make PACE “a clear part of the solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several private equity firms, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have jumped into the niche. F-Prime Capital Partners, a former Fidelity Biosciences group, provided seed funding for a PACE-related startup, as have well-regarded angel investors like Amir Dan Rubin, the former Stanford Health Care president, and Michael Zubkoff, a Dartmouth health care economist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And no company has moved with more tenacity than InnovAge. Last year, the company overcame protests from watchdog groups to convert from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit business in Colorado. And in May, InnovAge received $196 million in backing — the largest investment in a PACE business since the rule change was made — from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm with $10 billion in assets under management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228692\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS2763_elderlywalkers052411-800x505.jpg\" alt=\"Pedestrians are mirrored in a shopping window.\" width=\"800\" height=\"505\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pedestrians are mirrored in a shopping window. \u003ccite>(Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For years we were pariahs, and no one wanted anything to do with us,” said Julie Reiskin, executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for people with disabilities, many of whom are eligible for PACE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that there’s money involved,” Reiskin said, “everyone is all interested.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the program’s supporters acknowledge that the movement needs fresh momentum. But they worry that commercial operators will tarnish their image in the same way many for-profits eroded trust in hospice care and nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three decades ago, after Congress authorized Medicare to pay for hospice care, commercial operators displaced the religious and community groups that had championed the movement. As recently as 2014, government inspectors found that for-profit hospice companies cherry-picked patients and stinted on care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, elderly patients with dementia and chronic ailments have frequently been targets of abuse and neglect at nursing homes, something advocates for the elderly say is correlated with the increased commercialization of that industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not wild about every knucklehead running around trying to do PACE,” said Thomas Scully, former Medicare administrator under President George W. Bush. “I would rather keep it below the radar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not Quite Able\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early last year, Malveaux was drowning. She lived alone in a tidy red-brick home in a leafy Denver neighborhood that she paid for by working shifts at a Samsonite luggage factory, now closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laundry piled up. Bills went unpaid. Doors were left unlocked. Pans sometimes burned on the stove as her memory failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had lost my mind,” she recalled, sitting on her couch in a pink velour robe. “I couldn’t keep up my house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Americans who find themselves in this situation, the next stop is often a traditional nursing home. Malveaux’s son took her instead to visit an InnovAge day center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $9 million building south of downtown Denver is designed to calm people with dementia. It has subdued lighting and winding hallways that encircle the first floor like a running track and discourage “exit-seeking behaviors,” where patients search for ways out of a building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the frightened Malveaux, it seemed like paradise: a flower garden, a beauty salon and day trips to casinos and candy factories. And, most importantly, it had a team of doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, dentists, physical therapists, nutritionists, home health aides and social workers whose purpose was to help her live safely in her beloved brick home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After joining the center in June 2015, Malveaux began seeing a psychiatrist and went on medication for depression. A social worker coached her grandson, Jermaine Malveaux, on how to care for someone with dementia. Three days a week, an InnovAge van picks up Malveaux at home and takes her to the center to share lunch with other older adults and try her luck at bingo and ceramics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I make friends easily,” she said with a smile. “And the guys flirt with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The InnovAge center, like other PACE facilities, is inspired by Britain’s much-lauded \u003ca href=\"http://www.bgs.org.uk/index.php/topresources/publicationfind/goodpractice/86-day-hospitals-for-older-people\">Day Hospitals\u003c/a>, outpatient health care facilities that arose in the 1950s that became a hub of daily life for many older people. In the United States, the earliest incarnation of PACE was started in San Francisco in 1971 by a group of Asian and Italian immigrant families seeking alternatives to the American nursing home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal health officials allowed the group, \u003ca href=\"https://www.onlok.org/\">called On Lok\u003c/a> — Cantonese for “peaceful, happy abode” — to test what was then a novel and prophetic approach to health care financing. Instead of physicians billing Medicare each time they treated a patient, the government would pay a fixed amount to the center for each member. On Lok would assume the financial risk, similar to an insurance company. In 1990, Medicare officially sanctioned the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228691\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228691\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS801_medical053111-800x527.jpg\" alt=\"Registered nurse JoAnn Brand examines Sham Tavakol.\" width=\"800\" height=\"527\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Registered nurse JoAnn Brand examines Sham Tavakol. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In exchange for a capped monthly payment from Medicare and Medicaid, PACE staff members arrange and pay for all of a patient’s doctors’ visits, medications, rehabilitation and hospitalizations. At the same time, they are supposed to pay attention to the patient’s daily needs — meals, bathing, housekeeping and transportation to day centers, where older people can ward off isolation and cognitive decline by socializing. (Studies have found that the intensive caretaking reduces costly hospital stays.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Comparing the cost effectiveness of PACE against nursing homes is difficult, partly because state Medicaid agencies pay a variety of rates. But all the states are required to keep their rates below what they would pay for nursing home care. In Colorado, for example, that amounts to 7 percent less per patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On average, Medicare and Medicaid pay PACE providers $76,728 a person a year, about $5,500 less than the average cost of a nursing home. And the money going to PACE covers the all of the person’s health and social needs, unlike nursing home care, which doesn’t include hospitalizations and other expensive medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flat government payment pushes the organizations to invest in maintaining a patient’s health and safety to avoid big hospital bills. Dentistry — excluded from traditional Medicare coverage — is a crucial focus: Programs invest heavily to fix broken teeth and dentures to avoid costly infections or poor nutrition that can cause cascading health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers are also generous with rehabilitation, setting few limits on training sessions that strengthen injured muscles and sturdy patients against falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re neglecting these patients, the odds they’ll call an ambulance and go to the hospital and spend a week there because they’re really sick is pretty high, and that all comes out of the payment,” said Bob Kocher, a former senior health care adviser to President Barack Obama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Profits are in no way guaranteed, though. The centers still face major financial risk — it just takes a few patients with serious medical conditions to upend the books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Gray, a PACE financing consultant at Continuum Development Services, said too many trips to the emergency room or an expensive hospital stay can flip fortunes. One organization he advises had $300,000 in hospital medical claims in a month that he refers to as “Black August.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a nervous twitch,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>High-Tech vs. High-Touch\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, at the health care industry’s leading matchmaking event, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, word quickly spread that PACE programs could save states and the federal government up to 20 percent a patient. And suddenly, the program became one of the hottest topics of discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every other conversation was, ‘What do you think we should do with PACE?’” said Bill Pomeranz, a managing director at Cain Brothers, who helped finance the nation’s first PACE program in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message appeared to travel down Highway 101 as well, to the heart of the technology industry. At least eight startups have circulated PACE-related pitches to Silicon Valley venture capital firms, hoping to tap into new capital and create technology-enabled versions of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interest of the tech industry is so far only nascent. But the possibility that Silicon Valley, notoriously aggressive and extremely deep-pocketed, could play a significant role in PACE underscores the changes that may lie ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a center requires medical offices, rehabilitation equipment, food service and fleets of handicapped-accessible vans. On average, it takes up to $12 million just to get it off the ground. That is a lot of money for most nonprofits but relatively little in the technology world. Opening new centers may become less of a hurdle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tech industry and nonprofit world are driven by different impulses. The early centers were closely tied to local cultures, making them difficult to replicate. An aversion to aggressive marketing among the center’s leaders didn’t help, either. Tech likes to move as fast as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PACE reminds me of religious orthodoxy,” said Mr. Pomeranz, who said he had affection for the program. The movement’s leaders come from the world of public health and have a “social work mentality,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pitches circulating among investors envision technology-enabled programs that would rely, in part, on video visits and sensors. Some studies have found that telemedicine can help patients better control certain chronic conditions and reduce health care spending. But those technologies are largely untested in geriatric care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The entrepreneurs coming into this space all believe there are much lower-cost ways to check on patients every day than driving them all to one building,” said Mr. Kocher, who is now a partner at the venture capital firm Venrock, which invests in health care companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sorts of pitches, while promising, have not been universally welcomed. They’ve even been used as evidence that opening PACE up to for-profit companies might lead to unwanted consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran PACE providers, for example, are skeptical of virtual medicine’s benefits to seniors, especially those with dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Socialization goes a long way to improve the health of the participants we serve,” said Kelly Hopkins, president of Trinity Health PACE, a nonprofit health system that operates PACE centers in eight states. “It’s naïve to think you can do it virtually.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228712\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228712\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Diane Schoenfeld (left) and her aunt, Lillie Manger, look at old family photos in the dining room of Berkeley's Chaparral House, the nursing home Manger lives in.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diane Schoenfeld (left) and her aunt, Lillie Manger, look at old family photos in the dining room of Berkeley's Chaparral House, the nursing home Manger lives in. \u003ccite>(Rachel Dornhelm/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the change say the necessary safeguards are in place. The for-profit centers were approved, to little fanfare, after the Department of Health and Human Services submitted the results of a pilot study to Congress in June 2015. The demonstration project, in Pennsylvania, showed no difference in quality of care and costs between nonprofit PACE providers and a for-profit allowed to operate there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has vowed to closely track the performance of all PACE operators by measuring emergency room use, falls and vaccination rates, among other metrics. \u003ca href=\"http://www.npaonline.org/\">The National PACE Association\u003c/a>, a policy and lobbying group, is also considering peer-reviewed accreditation to help safeguard the program. Oversight is now largely left to state Medicaid agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maureen Hewitt, InnovAge’s chief executive, said, “At the end of the day, we’re held to the same quality and care standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Si France, a founder of \u003ca href=\"http://welbehealth.com/\">WelbeHealth\u003c/a>, an early-stage company based in Menlo Park, Calif., says startups can use technology to improve clinical communication, help caregivers make treatment decisions and monitor patients at home or in a hospital. But he insists even a high-tech PACE program cannot veer from its origins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not a way to get rich or generate outsize returns,” said Dr. France, the former chief executive of GoHealth, a chain of urgent care centers acquired by TPG Capital, a private equity firm. “We think this is an arena for missionaries, not mercenaries.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Will Money Change Things?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Families enrolled in InnovAge’s PACE program in Denver appeared to be unaware of its conversion into a for-profit enterprise. The company did not announce the change directly to its participants, but notified a patient advisory group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathy Baron, 68, who lives in subsidized senior housing, was left disabled by breast cancer and debilitating nerve pain. Her daughter, Leah van Zelm, struggled to take care of her. So Baron, fearful she would be deemed unfit to stay in her apartment, signed up for InnovAge’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would rather be dead than go into a nursing home,” Baron said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says InnovAge has been generous with services, echoing interviews with other patients. Each week, an InnovAge housekeeper changes the sheets on her bed, launders her clothes and cleans her apartment, a service provided to those unable to tidy their own homes. The few times her requests for special equipment or services were denied, Baron appealed and won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she worries new investors will skimp on what outsiders might view as unwarranted services. The company’s commercials, promising “Life on Your Terms” and voiced by the actress Susan Sarandon, have reinforced those concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a concern echoed by Malveaux’s family. “Anytime you involve money,” said Malveaux’s grandson Jermaine, “there’s always the concern for greed, especially with the elderly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least in the near future, the number of companies getting into PACE programs will be limited. Most states currently cap enrollment in PACE centers. And each state — as Colorado did, opening the window for InnovAge — likely needs to amend its law to allow the for-profit companies. So far, it appears only California has done so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet there is a growing realization among longtime PACE providers that new competition looms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a newsletter to the generally placid PACE community, one adviser warned that providers who failed to become bigger would face new entrants who “will find a way to meet the needs of persons in your community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those needs will only grow as the adult children of baby boomers face difficult decisions about how to care for their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, for people like Van Zelm, the anxiety that once pervaded her daily life has diminished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When she’s stable,” Van Zelm said of her mother, “my daily life stress is reduced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">KHN\u003c/a>’s coverage of late-life and geriatric care is supported by The\u003ca href=\"http://www.jhartfound.org/\"> John A. Hartford Foundation\u003c/a>, and its coverage of aging and long-term care issues is supported by \u003ca href=\"http://www.thescanfoundation.org/\">The SCAN Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "228587 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=228587",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/24/worries-as-the-for-profit-world-moves-into-elder-care/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 2988,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 72
},
"modified": 1472074233,
"excerpt": "PACE, a Medicare program that helps keep older people in their own homes, is allowing for-profit companies in. Tech and venture capital have expressed interest.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "PACE, a Medicare program that helps keep older people in their own homes, is allowing for-profit companies in. Tech and venture capital have expressed interest.",
"title": "Worries as the For-Profit World Moves into Elder Care | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Worries as the For-Profit World Moves into Elder Care",
"datePublished": "2016-08-24T14:30:33-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-08-24T14:30:33-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "worries-as-the-for-profit-world-moves-into-elder-care",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "\u003cstrong> Sarah Varney \u003c/br> Kaiser Health News \u003c/strong>",
"path": "/stateofhealth/228587/worries-as-the-for-profit-world-moves-into-elder-care",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>DENVER — Inside a senior center here, nestled along a bustling commercial strip, Vivian Malveaux scans her bingo card for a winning number. Her 81-year-old eyes are warm, lively and occasionally set adrift by the dementia plundering her mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of elderly men and women — some in wheelchairs, others whose hands tremble involuntarily — gather excitedly around the game tables. After bingo, there is more entertainment and activities: Yahtzee, tile-painting, beading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this is no linoleum-floored community center reeking of bleach. Instead, it’s one of eight vanguard centers \u003ca href=\"http://myinnovage.org/\">owned by InnovAge\u003c/a>, a company based in Denver with ambitious plans. With the support of private equity money, InnovAge aims to aggressively expand a little-known Medicare program that will pay to keep older and disabled Americans out of nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, only nonprofits were allowed to run programs like these. But a year ago, the government flipped the switch, opening the program to for-profit companies as well, ending one of the last remaining holdouts to commercialism in health care. The hope is that the profit motive will expand the services faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanging over all the promise, though, is the question of whether for-profit companies are well-suited to this line of work, long the province of nonprofit do-gooders. Critics point out that the business of caring for poor and frail people is marred with abuse. Already, new ideas for lowering the cost of the program have started circulating. In Silicon Valley, for example, some eager entrepreneurs are pushing plans that call for a higher reliance on video calls instead of in-person doctor visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228689\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 594px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-228689\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844.jpg\" alt=\"An elderly woman pushing her walker.\" width=\"594\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844.jpg 594w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS4288_121384844-400x281.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An elderly woman pushing her walker. \u003ccite>(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The business appeal is simple: A baby boom-propelled surge in government health care spending is coming. Medicare enrollment is expected to grow by 30 million people in the next two decades, and many of those people are potential future clients. Adding to the allure are hefty profit margins for programs like these — as high as 15 percent, compared with an average of 2 percent among nursing homes — and geographic monopolies that are all but guaranteed by state Medicaid agencies to ensure the solvency of providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the program, known as PACE, or the\u003ca href=\"https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/long-term-services-and-supports/integrating-care/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly-pace/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly-pace.html\"> Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly\u003c/a>, is to help frail, older Americans live longer and more happily in their own homes, by providing comprehensive medical care and intensive social support. It also promises to save Medicare and Medicaid millions of dollars by keeping those people out of nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, though, the program has failed to catch on, with only 40,000 people enrolled as of January of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PACE is still a secret in the minds of the public,” Andy Slavitt, Medicare’s acting administrator, said at the National PACE Association meeting in April. The challenge, he said, was to make PACE “a clear part of the solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several private equity firms, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have jumped into the niche. F-Prime Capital Partners, a former Fidelity Biosciences group, provided seed funding for a PACE-related startup, as have well-regarded angel investors like Amir Dan Rubin, the former Stanford Health Care president, and Michael Zubkoff, a Dartmouth health care economist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And no company has moved with more tenacity than InnovAge. Last year, the company overcame protests from watchdog groups to convert from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit business in Colorado. And in May, InnovAge received $196 million in backing — the largest investment in a PACE business since the rule change was made — from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm with $10 billion in assets under management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228692\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS2763_elderlywalkers052411-800x505.jpg\" alt=\"Pedestrians are mirrored in a shopping window.\" width=\"800\" height=\"505\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pedestrians are mirrored in a shopping window. \u003ccite>(Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“For years we were pariahs, and no one wanted anything to do with us,” said Julie Reiskin, executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for people with disabilities, many of whom are eligible for PACE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that there’s money involved,” Reiskin said, “everyone is all interested.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the program’s supporters acknowledge that the movement needs fresh momentum. But they worry that commercial operators will tarnish their image in the same way many for-profits eroded trust in hospice care and nursing homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three decades ago, after Congress authorized Medicare to pay for hospice care, commercial operators displaced the religious and community groups that had championed the movement. As recently as 2014, government inspectors found that for-profit hospice companies cherry-picked patients and stinted on care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, elderly patients with dementia and chronic ailments have frequently been targets of abuse and neglect at nursing homes, something advocates for the elderly say is correlated with the increased commercialization of that industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not wild about every knucklehead running around trying to do PACE,” said Thomas Scully, former Medicare administrator under President George W. Bush. “I would rather keep it below the radar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not Quite Able\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early last year, Malveaux was drowning. She lived alone in a tidy red-brick home in a leafy Denver neighborhood that she paid for by working shifts at a Samsonite luggage factory, now closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laundry piled up. Bills went unpaid. Doors were left unlocked. Pans sometimes burned on the stove as her memory failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had lost my mind,” she recalled, sitting on her couch in a pink velour robe. “I couldn’t keep up my house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Americans who find themselves in this situation, the next stop is often a traditional nursing home. Malveaux’s son took her instead to visit an InnovAge day center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $9 million building south of downtown Denver is designed to calm people with dementia. It has subdued lighting and winding hallways that encircle the first floor like a running track and discourage “exit-seeking behaviors,” where patients search for ways out of a building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the frightened Malveaux, it seemed like paradise: a flower garden, a beauty salon and day trips to casinos and candy factories. And, most importantly, it had a team of doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, dentists, physical therapists, nutritionists, home health aides and social workers whose purpose was to help her live safely in her beloved brick home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After joining the center in June 2015, Malveaux began seeing a psychiatrist and went on medication for depression. A social worker coached her grandson, Jermaine Malveaux, on how to care for someone with dementia. Three days a week, an InnovAge van picks up Malveaux at home and takes her to the center to share lunch with other older adults and try her luck at bingo and ceramics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I make friends easily,” she said with a smile. “And the guys flirt with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The InnovAge center, like other PACE facilities, is inspired by Britain’s much-lauded \u003ca href=\"http://www.bgs.org.uk/index.php/topresources/publicationfind/goodpractice/86-day-hospitals-for-older-people\">Day Hospitals\u003c/a>, outpatient health care facilities that arose in the 1950s that became a hub of daily life for many older people. In the United States, the earliest incarnation of PACE was started in San Francisco in 1971 by a group of Asian and Italian immigrant families seeking alternatives to the American nursing home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal health officials allowed the group, \u003ca href=\"https://www.onlok.org/\">called On Lok\u003c/a> — Cantonese for “peaceful, happy abode” — to test what was then a novel and prophetic approach to health care financing. Instead of physicians billing Medicare each time they treated a patient, the government would pay a fixed amount to the center for each member. On Lok would assume the financial risk, similar to an insurance company. In 1990, Medicare officially sanctioned the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228691\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228691\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS801_medical053111-800x527.jpg\" alt=\"Registered nurse JoAnn Brand examines Sham Tavakol.\" width=\"800\" height=\"527\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Registered nurse JoAnn Brand examines Sham Tavakol. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In exchange for a capped monthly payment from Medicare and Medicaid, PACE staff members arrange and pay for all of a patient’s doctors’ visits, medications, rehabilitation and hospitalizations. At the same time, they are supposed to pay attention to the patient’s daily needs — meals, bathing, housekeeping and transportation to day centers, where older people can ward off isolation and cognitive decline by socializing. (Studies have found that the intensive caretaking reduces costly hospital stays.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Comparing the cost effectiveness of PACE against nursing homes is difficult, partly because state Medicaid agencies pay a variety of rates. But all the states are required to keep their rates below what they would pay for nursing home care. In Colorado, for example, that amounts to 7 percent less per patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On average, Medicare and Medicaid pay PACE providers $76,728 a person a year, about $5,500 less than the average cost of a nursing home. And the money going to PACE covers the all of the person’s health and social needs, unlike nursing home care, which doesn’t include hospitalizations and other expensive medical care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flat government payment pushes the organizations to invest in maintaining a patient’s health and safety to avoid big hospital bills. Dentistry — excluded from traditional Medicare coverage — is a crucial focus: Programs invest heavily to fix broken teeth and dentures to avoid costly infections or poor nutrition that can cause cascading health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers are also generous with rehabilitation, setting few limits on training sessions that strengthen injured muscles and sturdy patients against falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re neglecting these patients, the odds they’ll call an ambulance and go to the hospital and spend a week there because they’re really sick is pretty high, and that all comes out of the payment,” said Bob Kocher, a former senior health care adviser to President Barack Obama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Profits are in no way guaranteed, though. The centers still face major financial risk — it just takes a few patients with serious medical conditions to upend the books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Gray, a PACE financing consultant at Continuum Development Services, said too many trips to the emergency room or an expensive hospital stay can flip fortunes. One organization he advises had $300,000 in hospital medical claims in a month that he refers to as “Black August.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a nervous twitch,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>High-Tech vs. High-Touch\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, at the health care industry’s leading matchmaking event, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, word quickly spread that PACE programs could save states and the federal government up to 20 percent a patient. And suddenly, the program became one of the hottest topics of discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every other conversation was, ‘What do you think we should do with PACE?’” said Bill Pomeranz, a managing director at Cain Brothers, who helped finance the nation’s first PACE program in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message appeared to travel down Highway 101 as well, to the heart of the technology industry. At least eight startups have circulated PACE-related pitches to Silicon Valley venture capital firms, hoping to tap into new capital and create technology-enabled versions of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interest of the tech industry is so far only nascent. But the possibility that Silicon Valley, notoriously aggressive and extremely deep-pocketed, could play a significant role in PACE underscores the changes that may lie ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a center requires medical offices, rehabilitation equipment, food service and fleets of handicapped-accessible vans. On average, it takes up to $12 million just to get it off the ground. That is a lot of money for most nonprofits but relatively little in the technology world. Opening new centers may become less of a hurdle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tech industry and nonprofit world are driven by different impulses. The early centers were closely tied to local cultures, making them difficult to replicate. An aversion to aggressive marketing among the center’s leaders didn’t help, either. Tech likes to move as fast as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PACE reminds me of religious orthodoxy,” said Mr. Pomeranz, who said he had affection for the program. The movement’s leaders come from the world of public health and have a “social work mentality,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pitches circulating among investors envision technology-enabled programs that would rely, in part, on video visits and sensors. Some studies have found that telemedicine can help patients better control certain chronic conditions and reduce health care spending. But those technologies are largely untested in geriatric care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The entrepreneurs coming into this space all believe there are much lower-cost ways to check on patients every day than driving them all to one building,” said Mr. Kocher, who is now a partner at the venture capital firm Venrock, which invests in health care companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sorts of pitches, while promising, have not been universally welcomed. They’ve even been used as evidence that opening PACE up to for-profit companies might lead to unwanted consequences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran PACE providers, for example, are skeptical of virtual medicine’s benefits to seniors, especially those with dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Socialization goes a long way to improve the health of the participants we serve,” said Kelly Hopkins, president of Trinity Health PACE, a nonprofit health system that operates PACE centers in eight states. “It’s naïve to think you can do it virtually.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_228712\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-228712\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Diane Schoenfeld (left) and her aunt, Lillie Manger, look at old family photos in the dining room of Berkeley's Chaparral House, the nursing home Manger lives in.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-1440x960.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2016/08/RS15228_nose-qut-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diane Schoenfeld (left) and her aunt, Lillie Manger, look at old family photos in the dining room of Berkeley's Chaparral House, the nursing home Manger lives in. \u003ccite>(Rachel Dornhelm/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the change say the necessary safeguards are in place. The for-profit centers were approved, to little fanfare, after the Department of Health and Human Services submitted the results of a pilot study to Congress in June 2015. The demonstration project, in Pennsylvania, showed no difference in quality of care and costs between nonprofit PACE providers and a for-profit allowed to operate there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has vowed to closely track the performance of all PACE operators by measuring emergency room use, falls and vaccination rates, among other metrics. \u003ca href=\"http://www.npaonline.org/\">The National PACE Association\u003c/a>, a policy and lobbying group, is also considering peer-reviewed accreditation to help safeguard the program. Oversight is now largely left to state Medicaid agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maureen Hewitt, InnovAge’s chief executive, said, “At the end of the day, we’re held to the same quality and care standards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Si France, a founder of \u003ca href=\"http://welbehealth.com/\">WelbeHealth\u003c/a>, an early-stage company based in Menlo Park, Calif., says startups can use technology to improve clinical communication, help caregivers make treatment decisions and monitor patients at home or in a hospital. But he insists even a high-tech PACE program cannot veer from its origins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not a way to get rich or generate outsize returns,” said Dr. France, the former chief executive of GoHealth, a chain of urgent care centers acquired by TPG Capital, a private equity firm. “We think this is an arena for missionaries, not mercenaries.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Will Money Change Things?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Families enrolled in InnovAge’s PACE program in Denver appeared to be unaware of its conversion into a for-profit enterprise. The company did not announce the change directly to its participants, but notified a patient advisory group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kathy Baron, 68, who lives in subsidized senior housing, was left disabled by breast cancer and debilitating nerve pain. Her daughter, Leah van Zelm, struggled to take care of her. So Baron, fearful she would be deemed unfit to stay in her apartment, signed up for InnovAge’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would rather be dead than go into a nursing home,” Baron said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says InnovAge has been generous with services, echoing interviews with other patients. Each week, an InnovAge housekeeper changes the sheets on her bed, launders her clothes and cleans her apartment, a service provided to those unable to tidy their own homes. The few times her requests for special equipment or services were denied, Baron appealed and won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she worries new investors will skimp on what outsiders might view as unwarranted services. The company’s commercials, promising “Life on Your Terms” and voiced by the actress Susan Sarandon, have reinforced those concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a concern echoed by Malveaux’s family. “Anytime you involve money,” said Malveaux’s grandson Jermaine, “there’s always the concern for greed, especially with the elderly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least in the near future, the number of companies getting into PACE programs will be limited. Most states currently cap enrollment in PACE centers. And each state — as Colorado did, opening the window for InnovAge — likely needs to amend its law to allow the for-profit companies. So far, it appears only California has done so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet there is a growing realization among longtime PACE providers that new competition looms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a newsletter to the generally placid PACE community, one adviser warned that providers who failed to become bigger would face new entrants who “will find a way to meet the needs of persons in your community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those needs will only grow as the adult children of baby boomers face difficult decisions about how to care for their parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, for people like Van Zelm, the anxiety that once pervaded her daily life has diminished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When she’s stable,” Van Zelm said of her mother, “my daily life stress is reduced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://khn.org/\">KHN\u003c/a>’s coverage of late-life and geriatric care is supported by The\u003ca href=\"http://www.jhartfound.org/\"> John A. Hartford Foundation\u003c/a>, and its coverage of aging and long-term care issues is supported by \u003ca href=\"http://www.thescanfoundation.org/\">The SCAN Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/228587/worries-as-the-for-profit-world-moves-into-elder-care",
"authors": [
"byline_stateofhealth_228587"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442",
"stateofhealth_2746"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_121",
"stateofhealth_2865"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_228690",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_225405": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_225405",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "225405",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1471320114000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1471320114,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Arbitrate or Else: Sutter Health Drives a Hard Bargain",
"title": "Arbitrate or Else: Sutter Health Drives a Hard Bargain",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>Bay Area companies say \u003ca href=\"http://www.sutterhealth.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Sutter Health\u003c/a> is strong-arming them into a contract that would help the medical system secure its power over prices and potentially raise the cost of medical care for their employees in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of companies received a letter in recent months, via their insurance administrators, asking them to waive their rights to sue Sutter. If they don’t, \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/321381559/Anthem-Sutter-Letter\" target=\"_blank\">the letter\u003c/a> says, the companies’ employees who get care at Sutter will no longer have access to discounted in-network prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In both choices, Castlight and our employees lose,” says Jennifer Chaloemtiarana, general counsel for \u003ca href=\"http://www.castlighthealth.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Castlight Health\u003c/a>, a tech company in San Francisco that received one of these letters this spring. She thought it was strange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight is self-insured, meaning it hires an insurance company -- in their case, it's \u003ca href=\"https://www.anthem.com/health-insurance/home/overview\" target=\"_blank\">Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/a> -- to manage the administrative details of its health coverage. But when an employee gets sick, Castlight, not Anthem, pays the bill. Anthem basically functions like a middleman, including negotiating discounted prices with providers like Sutter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We don’t have a direct relationship with Sutter Health,” Chaloemtiarana said. “So the letter was unusual in that regard because it asked us to make certain legal agreements with Sutter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter is from Anthem, but it says if Castlight has any disputes with Sutter, Castlight has to agree to arbitrate with Sutter Health. It can’t sue. And if it doesn’t sign, Castlight’s employees will lose their in-network medical rates. As a lawyer, this makes Chaloemtiarana uncomfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Arbitration provisions are pretty common among companies, but it usually occurs when you can sit down at a table and have a discussion and negotiation,” she says. “This has just been handed to us as a one-sided, unilateral provision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an employer that pays its employees' medical claims, Castlight doesn’t like the idea that it will never be able to challenge Sutter over its prices in open court. To Chaloemtiarana, waiving that right would only help strengthen the power of Sutter’s “already dominant” provider network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter is the largest medical system in Northern California, with roughly 30 percent market share of hospitals, surgical centers and doctors’ groups, according to a data analysis by Christopher Whaley, a research economist at UC Berkeley. For comparison, Whaley says, the largest medical system in the Los Angeles area has 5 percent market share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists have long argued that Sutter uses this power to charge more for its services. Sutter’s hospital prices are about 25 percent higher than other hospitals around the state, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://inq.sagepub.com/content/53/0046958016651555.full\" target=\"_blank\">recent study\u003c/a> from the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having a very strong, dominant provider system will reduce choice for our employees,” Chaloemtiarana says. “We want them, over the long term, to have choices in high-quality, low-cost providers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not signing the letter, she says, allows her company to “maintain our flexibility in fighting against what we consider to be difficult, anti-consumer provisions in provider networks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter rejects these claims and the research findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recent academic studies have been one-sided and misrepresent the competitive environment of Northern California,” said Bill Gleeson, vice president of communications for Sutter, adding that the studies “unjustly inflate the so-called market share of Sutter. There’s competition all around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight and the other self-insured companies believe they’re receiving this letter \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/16/blue-shield-sutter-impasse-about-more-than-money/\" target=\"_blank\">because of a lawsuit\u003c/a> Sutter is facing from \u003ca href=\"https://www.ufcwtrust.com/\" target=\"_blank\">UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust \u003c/a>(UEBT), which funds health coverage for 60,000 members of a grocery workers’ union. UEBT is alleging that Sutter uses unfair business practices to maintain its power over prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"71H0Ojb2GH2PmTeKnFMAoSO20SXx8Yvn\"]“They’ve put a stranglehold on the competitive process in the Northern California health care market,” said Richard Grossman, UEBT’s attorney. “And therefore they’re free to raise prices without limit, and they have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter rejects these claims, too, and argued that the health trust should have to arbitrate its disputes behind closed doors. The company said that the arbitration agreement Sutter has with Blue Shield, the trust's insurance administrator, also applies to the trust. But the judge in the case disagreed and so did \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/321382189/Sutter-Health-Arbitration-Opinion\" target=\"_blank\">an appeals court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My client had never agreed to arbitration, had never seen a contract that included an arbitration clause. And so we opposed that,” said Grossman. “The judge agreed with us and said, 'Sutter you cannot force them into arbitration.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grossman says that’s why Sutter now wants other self-insured companies like Castlight to actively sign the arbitration agreement and give up any future right to sue over prices or claim anti-competitive practices in open court. Again, if they don’t, their employees will have to pay higher out-of-network rates at Sutter hospitals and doctors’ offices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They want to force any disputes into confidential arbitration so their misdeeds cannot be exposed in a public courtroom, as is our constitutional right,” Grossman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Sutter, the goal of the letter is transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We've taken a very proactive, very transparent approach, to making sure that the health plans provide these important clients of theirs with all the key terms of their agreements, and that includes rates,” says Gleeson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressed to comment on the decision Sutter is asking self-insured companies to make -- to give up their right to sue or give up their lower prices for medical care -- Gleeson said companies “can’t accept deep discounts and make up their own rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight’s Jennifer Chaloemtiarana says there’s nothing transparent about one company forcing another company to sign a contract it hasn’t negotiated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Having been put in this position without any activity or triggering event of our own feels very unfair,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Castlight has made the difficult decision not to sign the letter -- even though it’s going to have negative consequences for its employees who go to Sutter for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can stay with that provider and face substantially increased prices. Or, if they feel that they cannot handle that financial burden, they’ll have to find another provider,” she says. \"In many cases, that's going to mean traveling further, or moving to another provider network entirely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight itself is in the business of trying to make health care more transparent -- it makes a software platform where employees get information about their health benefits, service costs and quality, so they can make better decisions about their care. Chaloemtiarana says, out of principle, and for the long-term mission of improving health care, it has to \"stand up against\" Sutter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter’s Gleeson says if companies don’t sign the letter, Sutter will ask health insurers to find another way to convince companies to agree to the arbitration terms.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "225405 http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=225405",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/15/arbitrate-or-else-sutter-health-drives-a-hard-bargain/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1212,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 31
},
"modified": 1471385604,
"excerpt": "Some companies are balking at health giant's move to have disputes argued behind closed doors.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Some companies are balking at health giant's move to have disputes argued behind closed doors.",
"title": "Arbitrate or Else: Sutter Health Drives a Hard Bargain | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Arbitrate or Else: Sutter Health Drives a Hard Bargain",
"datePublished": "2016-08-15T21:01:54-07:00",
"dateModified": "2016-08-16T15:13:24-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "arbitrate-or-else-sutter-health-drives-a-hard-bargain",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/225405/arbitrate-or-else-sutter-health-drives-a-hard-bargain",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Bay Area companies say \u003ca href=\"http://www.sutterhealth.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Sutter Health\u003c/a> is strong-arming them into a contract that would help the medical system secure its power over prices and potentially raise the cost of medical care for their employees in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of companies received a letter in recent months, via their insurance administrators, asking them to waive their rights to sue Sutter. If they don’t, \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/321381559/Anthem-Sutter-Letter\" target=\"_blank\">the letter\u003c/a> says, the companies’ employees who get care at Sutter will no longer have access to discounted in-network prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In both choices, Castlight and our employees lose,” says Jennifer Chaloemtiarana, general counsel for \u003ca href=\"http://www.castlighthealth.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Castlight Health\u003c/a>, a tech company in San Francisco that received one of these letters this spring. She thought it was strange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight is self-insured, meaning it hires an insurance company -- in their case, it's \u003ca href=\"https://www.anthem.com/health-insurance/home/overview\" target=\"_blank\">Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/a> -- to manage the administrative details of its health coverage. But when an employee gets sick, Castlight, not Anthem, pays the bill. Anthem basically functions like a middleman, including negotiating discounted prices with providers like Sutter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We don’t have a direct relationship with Sutter Health,” Chaloemtiarana said. “So the letter was unusual in that regard because it asked us to make certain legal agreements with Sutter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter is from Anthem, but it says if Castlight has any disputes with Sutter, Castlight has to agree to arbitrate with Sutter Health. It can’t sue. And if it doesn’t sign, Castlight’s employees will lose their in-network medical rates. As a lawyer, this makes Chaloemtiarana uncomfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Arbitration provisions are pretty common among companies, but it usually occurs when you can sit down at a table and have a discussion and negotiation,” she says. “This has just been handed to us as a one-sided, unilateral provision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an employer that pays its employees' medical claims, Castlight doesn’t like the idea that it will never be able to challenge Sutter over its prices in open court. To Chaloemtiarana, waiving that right would only help strengthen the power of Sutter’s “already dominant” provider network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter is the largest medical system in Northern California, with roughly 30 percent market share of hospitals, surgical centers and doctors’ groups, according to a data analysis by Christopher Whaley, a research economist at UC Berkeley. For comparison, Whaley says, the largest medical system in the Los Angeles area has 5 percent market share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists have long argued that Sutter uses this power to charge more for its services. Sutter’s hospital prices are about 25 percent higher than other hospitals around the state, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://inq.sagepub.com/content/53/0046958016651555.full\" target=\"_blank\">recent study\u003c/a> from the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having a very strong, dominant provider system will reduce choice for our employees,” Chaloemtiarana says. “We want them, over the long term, to have choices in high-quality, low-cost providers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not signing the letter, she says, allows her company to “maintain our flexibility in fighting against what we consider to be difficult, anti-consumer provisions in provider networks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter rejects these claims and the research findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recent academic studies have been one-sided and misrepresent the competitive environment of Northern California,” said Bill Gleeson, vice president of communications for Sutter, adding that the studies “unjustly inflate the so-called market share of Sutter. There’s competition all around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight and the other self-insured companies believe they’re receiving this letter \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/16/blue-shield-sutter-impasse-about-more-than-money/\" target=\"_blank\">because of a lawsuit\u003c/a> Sutter is facing from \u003ca href=\"https://www.ufcwtrust.com/\" target=\"_blank\">UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust \u003c/a>(UEBT), which funds health coverage for 60,000 members of a grocery workers’ union. UEBT is alleging that Sutter uses unfair business practices to maintain its power over prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>“They’ve put a stranglehold on the competitive process in the Northern California health care market,” said Richard Grossman, UEBT’s attorney. “And therefore they’re free to raise prices without limit, and they have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter rejects these claims, too, and argued that the health trust should have to arbitrate its disputes behind closed doors. The company said that the arbitration agreement Sutter has with Blue Shield, the trust's insurance administrator, also applies to the trust. But the judge in the case disagreed and so did \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/321382189/Sutter-Health-Arbitration-Opinion\" target=\"_blank\">an appeals court\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My client had never agreed to arbitration, had never seen a contract that included an arbitration clause. And so we opposed that,” said Grossman. “The judge agreed with us and said, 'Sutter you cannot force them into arbitration.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grossman says that’s why Sutter now wants other self-insured companies like Castlight to actively sign the arbitration agreement and give up any future right to sue over prices or claim anti-competitive practices in open court. Again, if they don’t, their employees will have to pay higher out-of-network rates at Sutter hospitals and doctors’ offices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They want to force any disputes into confidential arbitration so their misdeeds cannot be exposed in a public courtroom, as is our constitutional right,” Grossman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Sutter, the goal of the letter is transparency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We've taken a very proactive, very transparent approach, to making sure that the health plans provide these important clients of theirs with all the key terms of their agreements, and that includes rates,” says Gleeson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pressed to comment on the decision Sutter is asking self-insured companies to make -- to give up their right to sue or give up their lower prices for medical care -- Gleeson said companies “can’t accept deep discounts and make up their own rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight’s Jennifer Chaloemtiarana says there’s nothing transparent about one company forcing another company to sign a contract it hasn’t negotiated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Having been put in this position without any activity or triggering event of our own feels very unfair,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Castlight has made the difficult decision not to sign the letter -- even though it’s going to have negative consequences for its employees who go to Sutter for care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can stay with that provider and face substantially increased prices. Or, if they feel that they cannot handle that financial burden, they’ll have to find another provider,” she says. \"In many cases, that's going to mean traveling further, or moving to another provider network entirely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castlight itself is in the business of trying to make health care more transparent -- it makes a software platform where employees get information about their health benefits, service costs and quality, so they can make better decisions about their care. Chaloemtiarana says, out of principle, and for the long-term mission of improving health care, it has to \"stand up against\" Sutter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sutter’s Gleeson says if companies don’t sign the letter, Sutter will ask health insurers to find another way to convince companies to agree to the arbitration terms.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/225405/arbitrate-or-else-sutter-health-drives-a-hard-bargain",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_2442"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2808",
"stateofhealth_482",
"stateofhealth_2519",
"stateofhealth_2859"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_225429",
"label": "stateofhealth"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"radioSearchSegmentsReducer": {},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026PresidentialReducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/stateofhealth?category=health-insurance": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 24,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 98,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"stateofhealth_262888",
"stateofhealth_257784",
"stateofhealth_254887",
"stateofhealth_242950",
"stateofhealth_237846",
"stateofhealth_237123",
"stateofhealth_235188",
"stateofhealth_234725",
"stateofhealth_231161",
"stateofhealth_229191",
"stateofhealth_228587",
"stateofhealth_225405"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth_category_health-insurance": {
"isLoading": true
},
"stateofhealth_2442": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2442",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2442",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Insurance",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Insurance Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2453,
"slug": "health-insurance",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/health-insurance"
},
"stateofhealth_15": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_15",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "15",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Obamacare",
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President? \r\n",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President?",
"title": "Obamacare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 15,
"slug": "reform",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/reform"
},
"stateofhealth_14": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_14",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "14",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Policy",
"description": "Actions by people in power – lawmakers, regulators and the like – can make a difference to your health, for better or for worse. We keep you informed",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "Actions by people in power – lawmakers, regulators and the like – can make a difference to your health, for better or for worse. We keep you informed",
"title": "Policy Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 14,
"slug": "policy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/policy"
},
"stateofhealth_38": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_38",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "38",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Affordable Care Act",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Affordable Care Act Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 38,
"slug": "affordable-care-act",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/affordable-care-act"
},
"stateofhealth_368": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_368",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "368",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Covered California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Covered California Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 369,
"slug": "covered-california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/covered-california"
},
"stateofhealth_3001": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_3001",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "3001",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Emily Bazar",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Emily Bazar Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3010,
"slug": "emily-bazar",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/emily-bazar"
},
"stateofhealth_2994": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2994",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2994",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "2016 presidential race",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "2016 presidential race Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3003,
"slug": "2016-presidential-race",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/2016-presidential-race"
},
"stateofhealth_2997": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2997",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2997",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "congress",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "congress Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3006,
"slug": "congress",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/congress"
},
"stateofhealth_2995": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2995",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2995",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "donald trump",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "donald trump Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3004,
"slug": "donald-trump",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/donald-trump"
},
"stateofhealth_2808": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2808",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2808",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "featured",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "featured Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2817,
"slug": "featured",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/featured"
},
"stateofhealth_2996": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2996",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2996",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "health care law repeal",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "health care law repeal Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3005,
"slug": "health-care-law-repeal",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-care-law-repeal"
},
"stateofhealth_28": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_28",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "28",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "health insurance",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "health insurance Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 28,
"slug": "health-insurance",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-insurance"
},
"stateofhealth_365": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_365",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "365",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Obamacare",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Obamacare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 366,
"slug": "obamacare",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/obamacare"
},
"stateofhealth_12": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_12",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "12",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Living Healthy",
"description": "Health is about much more than medicine. We show you what's new to help you attain and maintain a healthy life",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "Health is about much more than medicine. We show you what's new to help you attain and maintain a healthy life",
"title": "Living Healthy Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 12,
"slug": "living-healthy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/living-healthy"
},
"stateofhealth_2963": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2963",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2963",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "ACO",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "ACO Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2972,
"slug": "aco",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/aco"
},
"stateofhealth_2519": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2519",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2519",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2528,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/news"
},
"stateofhealth_2965": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2965",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2965",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "UnitedHealth",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "UnitedHealth Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2974,
"slug": "unitedhealth",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/unitedhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_2964": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2964",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2964",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "University of California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "University of California Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2973,
"slug": "university-of-california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/university-of-california"
},
"stateofhealth_2909": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2909",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2909",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Premiums",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Premiums Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2918,
"slug": "premiums",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/premiums"
},
"stateofhealth_2920": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2920",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2920",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Small Businesses",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Small Businesses Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2929,
"slug": "small-businesses",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/small-businesses"
},
"stateofhealth_2910": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2910",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2910",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Employees",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Employees Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2919,
"slug": "employees",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/employees"
},
"stateofhealth_539": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_539",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "539",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Insurance Costs",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Insurance Costs Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 540,
"slug": "health-insurance-costs",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-insurance-costs"
},
"stateofhealth_2698": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2698",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2698",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Anthem",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Anthem Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2707,
"slug": "anthem",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/anthem"
},
"stateofhealth_228": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_228",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "228",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Blue Shield",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Blue Shield Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 228,
"slug": "blue-shield",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/blue-shield"
},
"stateofhealth_2650": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2650",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2650",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Drug Costs",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Drug Costs Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2659,
"slug": "drug-costs",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/drug-costs"
},
"stateofhealth_2640": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2640",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2640",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Drug Prices",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Drug Prices Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2649,
"slug": "drug-prices",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/drug-prices"
},
"stateofhealth_2885": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2885",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2885",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Claims",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Claims Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2894,
"slug": "claims",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/claims"
},
"stateofhealth_2887": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2887",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2887",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Coverage",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Coverage Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2896,
"slug": "coverage",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/coverage"
},
"stateofhealth_2886": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2886",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2886",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Denied",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Denied Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2895,
"slug": "denied",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/denied"
},
"stateofhealth_2845": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2845",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2845",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Insurance",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Insurance Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2854,
"slug": "insurance",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/insurance"
},
"stateofhealth_2492": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2492",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2492",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Price Check",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "series",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Price Check Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 802,
"slug": "price-check",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/series/price-check"
},
"stateofhealth_11": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_11",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "11",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Community Health",
"description": "\r\n\r\nFrom rural California to urban neighborhoods, where you live affects your health",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "From rural California to urban neighborhoods, where you live affects your health",
"title": "Community Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 11,
"slug": "place-matters",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/place-matters"
},
"stateofhealth_2872": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2872",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2872",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "AB 72",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "AB 72 Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2881,
"slug": "ab-72",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/ab-72"
},
"stateofhealth_2874": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2874",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2874",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "healthcare",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "healthcare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2883,
"slug": "healthcare",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/healthcare"
},
"stateofhealth_2873": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2873",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2873",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Rob Bonta",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Rob Bonta Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2882,
"slug": "rob-bonta",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/rob-bonta"
},
"stateofhealth_1": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_1",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "1",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Uncategorized",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Uncategorized Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1,
"slug": "uncategorized",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/uncategorized"
},
"stateofhealth_2746": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2746",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2746",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Public Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Public Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2755,
"slug": "public-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/public-health"
},
"stateofhealth_121": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_121",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "121",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Elderly",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Elderly Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 121,
"slug": "elderly",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/elderly"
},
"stateofhealth_2865": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2865",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2865",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "ntv",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "ntv Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2874,
"slug": "ntv",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/ntv"
},
"stateofhealth_482": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_482",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "482",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Care Costs",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Care Costs Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 483,
"slug": "health-care-costs",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-care-costs"
},
"stateofhealth_2859": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2859",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2859",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Sutter Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Sutter Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2868,
"slug": "sutter-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/sutter-health"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
},
"navPromosReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": true,
"promos": {
"news": {
"name": "2026 Voter Guide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"imageURL": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Nav-News-Nov2026ElectionCoverage@2x-7bd4aad4.png",
"description": "Get informed in minutes with our Voter Guide for California’s November 3 election."
},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}