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_23662": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23662",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23662",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23661,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-400x291.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 291
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-320x232.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 232
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"height": 1046
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-1440x1046.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1046
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-800x581.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 581
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-1180x857.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 857
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-768x558.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 558
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1422384816,
"modified": 1422385563,
"caption": "Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. ",
"description": "Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. ",
"title": "Jennifer Kent2",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_2574": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_2574",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2574",
"found": true
},
"parent": 2563,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-400x265.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 265
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-320x212.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 212
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-639x372.jpg",
"width": 639,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930.jpg",
"width": 639,
"height": 424
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1327608935,
"modified": 1327608935,
"caption": "(s_falkow: Flickr)",
"description": "gavel and book close up",
"title": "(s_falkow: Flickr)",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23592": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23592",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23592",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23589,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-1038x576.png",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-400x264.png",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 264
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-320x211.png",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 211
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-672x372.png",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640.png",
"width": 1440,
"height": 951
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-1440x951.png",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 951
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-96x96.png",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-800x528.png",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 528
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-64x64.png",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-32x32.png",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-1180x779.png",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 779
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-768x507.png",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 507
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-75x75.png",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-e1421908072640-128x128.png",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1421908017,
"modified": 1423699592,
"caption": "Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014 in Oregon.\n(Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)",
"description": "Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014.\n(Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)",
"title": "Screen Shot 2015-01-21 at 10.25.17 PM",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23555": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23555",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23555",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23553,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-400x292.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 292
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-320x234.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 234
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"height": 1051
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-1440x1051.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1051
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-800x584.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 584
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-1180x861.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 861
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-768x561.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 561
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1421777610,
"modified": 1421777647,
"caption": "(David Lucas/Getty Images)",
"description": "TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 28: Ric Reed, 30, (L) and Ernest Lacasse, 67, show their wedding rings to the media after their ceremony at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto June 28, 2003 in Toronto, Canada. Toronto's wedding registry office will be open this weekend for the first time in its history issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples who want to take advantage of Canada's recently changed marriage laws. (Photo by David Lucas/Getty Images)",
"title": "Massachusetts Court Rules Same Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_22548": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_22548",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "22548",
"found": true
},
"parent": 22542,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-400x270.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 270
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-320x216.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 216
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728.jpg",
"width": 1439,
"height": 973
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-800x541.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 541
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-1180x798.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 798
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-768x519.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 519
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1416265624,
"modified": 1416265624,
"caption": "Nurses carry signs as they strike outside of Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Francisco last week. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)",
"description": "Nurses carry signs as they strike outside of Kaiser Permanente hospital on November 11, 2014 in San Francisco, California. Nearly 18,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses in Northern California are staging a two-day strike amidst contract negotiations and to demand better working conditions, training and optimal safeguards for treating ebola. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)",
"title": "California Nurses Strike To Protest Patient Care Conditions, Ebola Preparation",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_9899": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_9899",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "9899",
"found": true
},
"parent": 9891,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-400x286.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 286
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-320x229.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 229
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-640x372.jpg",
"width": 640,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 458
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1357939293,
"modified": 1357939293,
"caption": "(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)",
"description": "Gov. Brown is proposing the counties share the financial cost of the Medicaid expansion. January 11, 2013. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)",
"title": "(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23344": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23344",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23344",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23341,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-320x214.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 214
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"height": 961
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-1440x961.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 961
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-800x534.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 534
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-768x513.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 513
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1420584146,
"modified": 1420584194,
"caption": "Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)",
"description": "Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years (Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN).",
"title": "Messengale-7",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23331": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23331",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23331",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23329,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-400x265.png",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 265
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-320x212.png",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 212
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-672x372.png",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM.png",
"width": 764,
"height": 507
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-96x96.png",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-64x64.png",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-75x75.png",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-32x32.png",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-128x128.png",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1420573028,
"modified": 1420573073,
"caption": "Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)",
"description": "Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)",
"title": "Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 11.36.41 AM",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23324": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23324",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23324",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23323,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-400x198.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 198
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-320x158.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 158
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV.jpg",
"width": 1275,
"height": 630
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-800x395.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 395
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-1180x583.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 583
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-768x379.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 379
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1420497361,
"modified": 1440003509,
"caption": "Brown says special session on Medi-Cal funding is not the appropriate venue to consider assisted suicide issue. ",
"description": "Gov. Jerry Brown is sworn in as California governor for the fourth time. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)",
"title": "RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV",
"credit": " Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23293": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23293",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23293",
"found": true
},
"parent": 23291,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-400x266.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 266
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-320x213.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 213
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"height": 958
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-1440x958.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 958
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-800x532.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 532
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-768x511.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 511
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1420054119,
"modified": 1434990734,
"caption": "Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act with Vice President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 1, 2014. ",
"description": "US President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, with Vice President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 1, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to buy Obama's new health insurance plans on March 31, prompting a victory lap from a White House that paid a steep political price for its greatest achievement. (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)",
"title": "US-POLITICS-HEALTH-OBAMA",
"credit": "Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_22731": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_22731",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "22731",
"found": true
},
"parent": 22722,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-320x213.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 213
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"height": 960
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-1440x960.jpg",
"width": 1440,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 960
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-1180x787.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 787
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1417052229,
"modified": 1464715768,
"caption": null,
"description": "state capitol, capital, sacramento",
"title": null,
"credit": "Justin Sullivan/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_23139": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_23139",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23139",
"found": true
},
"parent": 22957,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-400x222.png",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 222
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-320x177.png",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 177
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png",
"width": 622,
"height": 345
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-96x96.png",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-64x64.png",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-75x75.png",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-32x32.png",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-128x128.png",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1419036646,
"modified": 1419036665,
"caption": "(Courtesy: California HealthCare Foundation)",
"description": "Toby Douglass",
"title": "Screen Shot 2014-12-15 at 1.39.42 PM",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"lisaaliferis": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "240",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "240",
"found": true
},
"name": "Lisa Aliferis",
"firstName": "Lisa",
"lastName": "Aliferis",
"slug": "lisaaliferis",
"email": "laliferis@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Lisa Aliferis is the founding editor of KQED's \u003cem>State of Health\u003c/em> blog. Since 2011, she's been writing and editing stories for the site. Before taking up blogging, she toiled for many years (more than we can count) producing health stories for television, including\u003cem> Dateline NBC\u003c/em> and San Francisco's CBS affiliate, KPIX-TV. She also wrote up a \u003ca title=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\">handy guide to the Affordable Care Act\u003c/a>, especially for Californians. Her work has been honored for many awards. Most recently she was a finalist for \"Best Topical Reporting\" from the Online News Association. You can follow her on Twitter: \u003ca title=\"https://twitter.com/laliferis\" href=\"https://twitter.com/laliferis\">@laliferis\u003c/a>",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g",
"twitter": "laliferis",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "food",
"roles": []
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Lisa Aliferis | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/lisaaliferis"
},
"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"
},
"state-of-health": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "8344",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "8344",
"found": true
},
"name": "State of Health",
"firstName": "State of Health",
"lastName": null,
"slug": "state-of-health",
"email": "stateofhealth@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": null,
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "State of Health | KQED",
"description": null,
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/state-of-health"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"stateofhealth_category_policy": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_14",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "14",
"score": 12.669186
},
"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,
"title": "Policy",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "stateofhealth",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 28
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/company-paragraph",
"content": "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"
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/stateofhealth?category=policy",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 28
}
},
{
"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_23661": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23661",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23661",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1422385980000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1422385980,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Governor Appoints New Director of Health Care Services",
"title": "Governor Appoints New Director of Health Care Services",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23662\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-23662 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-640x464.jpg\" alt=\"Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. \" width=\"640\" height=\"464\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. (Courtesy: DHCS)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By David Gorn,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/governor-appoints-new-dhcs-director\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/governor-appoints-new-dhcs-director\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Jennifer Kent as the new director of the Department of Health Care Services, a $9 billion state agency that oversees the Medi-Cal program.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">DHCS is the agency that oversees Medi-Cal. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Kent had most recently been the executive director of Local Health Plans of California, an organization representing 14 not-for-profit public health plans across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm very excited,\" Kent said. \"It's a big job, so I'm both thrilled and a little overwhelmed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kent replaces Toby Douglas, who was DHCS director for the past four years. Kent has worked at DHCS in the past -- in fact, she and Douglas were both deputy directors in the department at the same time. Kent worked at the department from 2004 to 2007. She headed legislative affairs for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and has experience in both the public and private spheres of health care.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kent said she has big shoes to fill at the department and that the scope of change at the department has been unprecedented, topped by adding 2.7 million new enrollees to Medi-Cal and shifting more than 70% of beneficiaries into Medi-Cal managed care plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have watched the department lift the entire health care reform effort during a time of budget constraints, and set a national example,\" Kent said. \"So first and foremost, I recognize that people at the department accomplished quite a lot in a short amount of time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that the move to Medi-Cal managed care has been put in place, she said, there is a lot of work to do to make it successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have all put a lot of faith in the managed care system. Now we're shifting from implementation to operation and function,\" she said. \"We are a managed care state in its entirety. … By and large we've chosen a delivery system, so now we all have to make managed care work so that it's efficient and organized and accountable.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest obstacle to making it work, she said, is the sheer size of the Medi-Cal program, which currently covers more than 30% of the population of California -- and 50% of its children.\u003cbr>\n\"The magnitude of it,\" Kent said. \"It's a big thing and it's really complicated, with lots of moving pieces.\" She said her familiarity with what the department has done and is doing should help smooth the transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've worked on the private side and the state side, so I have an appreciation for how the private sector thinks, and I also know how hard it is to move things on the government side,\" Kent said. \"There are some things needed by plans and providers, and one of them is certainty. … We need to be a good business partner, we owe it to them to provide consistent rules.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the concerns raised in the state Legislature recently has been a need for greater monitoring of how Medi-Cal managed care is working, and whether quality and access are maintained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I do think the department has already done an extensive amount of that monitoring already. It's been started,\" Kent said. \"It's certainly the right question to be asking. This system we've chosen, is it doing what we expect it to do?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Successful monitoring is based on good data, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not an exciting cocktail conversation, but data is so important to monitor performance and reward quality,\" she said. \"You want to find the providers who are doing it right so you can point to them and say, 'This is what we want to emulate.' And you can't do that without good data.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23661 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23661",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/27/governor-appoints-new-director-of-health-care-services/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 647,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 17
},
"modified": 1422389065,
"excerpt": "Jennifer Kent will lead the $9 billion state agency that oversees the Medi-Cal program.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Jennifer Kent will lead the $9 billion state agency that oversees the Medi-Cal program.",
"title": "Governor Appoints New Director of Health Care Services | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Governor Appoints New Director of Health Care Services",
"datePublished": "2015-01-27T11:13:00-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-27T12:04:25-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "governor-appoints-new-director-of-health-care-services",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23661/governor-appoints-new-director-of-health-care-services",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23662\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-e1422384825678.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-23662 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Jennifer-Kent2-640x464.jpg\" alt=\"Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. \" width=\"640\" height=\"464\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jennifer Kent was most recently executive director of Local Health Plans of California. (Courtesy: DHCS)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By David Gorn,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/governor-appoints-new-dhcs-director\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/governor-appoints-new-dhcs-director\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Jennifer Kent as the new director of the Department of Health Care Services, a $9 billion state agency that oversees the Medi-Cal program.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">DHCS is the agency that oversees Medi-Cal. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Kent had most recently been the executive director of Local Health Plans of California, an organization representing 14 not-for-profit public health plans across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm very excited,\" Kent said. \"It's a big job, so I'm both thrilled and a little overwhelmed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kent replaces Toby Douglas, who was DHCS director for the past four years. Kent has worked at DHCS in the past -- in fact, she and Douglas were both deputy directors in the department at the same time. Kent worked at the department from 2004 to 2007. She headed legislative affairs for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and has experience in both the public and private spheres of health care.\u003c!--more-->\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>Kent said she has big shoes to fill at the department and that the scope of change at the department has been unprecedented, topped by adding 2.7 million new enrollees to Medi-Cal and shifting more than 70% of beneficiaries into Medi-Cal managed care plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have watched the department lift the entire health care reform effort during a time of budget constraints, and set a national example,\" Kent said. \"So first and foremost, I recognize that people at the department accomplished quite a lot in a short amount of time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that the move to Medi-Cal managed care has been put in place, she said, there is a lot of work to do to make it successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have all put a lot of faith in the managed care system. Now we're shifting from implementation to operation and function,\" she said. \"We are a managed care state in its entirety. … By and large we've chosen a delivery system, so now we all have to make managed care work so that it's efficient and organized and accountable.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest obstacle to making it work, she said, is the sheer size of the Medi-Cal program, which currently covers more than 30% of the population of California -- and 50% of its children.\u003cbr>\n\"The magnitude of it,\" Kent said. \"It's a big thing and it's really complicated, with lots of moving pieces.\" She said her familiarity with what the department has done and is doing should help smooth the transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I've worked on the private side and the state side, so I have an appreciation for how the private sector thinks, and I also know how hard it is to move things on the government side,\" Kent said. \"There are some things needed by plans and providers, and one of them is certainty. … We need to be a good business partner, we owe it to them to provide consistent rules.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the concerns raised in the state Legislature recently has been a need for greater monitoring of how Medi-Cal managed care is working, and whether quality and access are maintained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I do think the department has already done an extensive amount of that monitoring already. It's been started,\" Kent said. \"It's certainly the right question to be asking. This system we've chosen, is it doing what we expect it to do?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Successful monitoring is based on good data, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not an exciting cocktail conversation, but data is so important to monitor performance and reward quality,\" she said. \"You want to find the providers who are doing it right so you can point to them and say, 'This is what we want to emulate.' And you can't do that without good data.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23661/governor-appoints-new-director-of-health-care-services",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_99"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23662",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23608": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23608",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23608",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1422036389000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1422036389,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Judge Rules on Medi-Cal Backlog, Orders Timely Access to Benefits",
"title": "Judge Rules on Medi-Cal Backlog, Orders Timely Access to Benefits",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-2574\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-620x411.jpg\" alt=\"(s_falkow: Flickr)\" width=\"620\" height=\"411\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(s_falkow: Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By David Gorn,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/judge-finally-rules-on-backlog-lawsuit-orders-state-to-adhere-to-45-day-deadline\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/judge-finally-rules-on-backlog-lawsuit-orders-state-to-adhere-to-45-day-deadline\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, an Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/~/media/Files/2015/PDFs/Jan%202015%20MediCal%20injunction.ashx\" target=\"_blank\">preliminary injunction\u003c/a> requiring the state to adhere to a 45-day limit for processing Medi-Cal applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling by Judge Evelio Grillo was a victory for health care advocates in a lawsuit over the state's extensive backlog in processing Medi-Cal applications. The Medi-Cal expansion and the first open enrollment period for Covered California brought millions of applications to the door of the Department of Health Care Services, which oversees Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Computer issues hampered the processing of many of those applications, and in March 2014 the backlog of unprocessed claims peaked at more than 900,000 applications. It took many months to clear the bulk of those applications. Some of them are still hanging fire almost a year later, said Jen Flory, senior attorney in the Sacramento office of the Western Center on Law and Poverty.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They've been working on it, but it's not complete. There are large numbers of people they're still processing, and different counties are reporting different numbers,\" Flory said. \"From our perspective, anytime there's even one person where services are withheld, that's a problem. The number is down, but I would need to see the number zero.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DHCS officials said the ruling simply reflects changes already made at the department, where recent applications have been processed within the 45-day limit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That action, along with other extensive efforts undertaken throughout 2014, has virtually cleared the number of pending individuals, reducing it by more than 95 percent,\" department officials said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing the math from the peak of 900,000 unprocessed applications, that leaves roughly 45,000 applications still pending from 10 months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That remaining backlog dismays Lucy Quacinella, founder of Multiforum Advocacy Solutions, a private legal firm in San Francisco. Quacinella was lead attorney in the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This ruling is very significant,\" Quacinella said. \"The state made some improvements that never would have happened without the lawsuit. We would absolutely be looking at a growing backlog right now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quacinella said the state now must clear those final pending applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The ruling requires the department to complete eligibility reviews and give a final decision,\" she said. \"And if the state is unable to do that, they have to grant preliminary eligibility to those who are likely eligible.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DHCS officials said that's happening right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"DHCS is processing the remaining pending applicants this week,\" DHCS officials said in their written release, \"and once all needed verifications of information are complete, eligible individuals will be moved into coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has been a complicated and thorny problem, the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are multiple factors affecting DHCS' ability to process individuals into coverage, including the need to receive documents from applicants to verify eligibility, as well as some technology issues,\" the statement said. \"Of the remaining pending applications, many are individuals who have not yet provided information needed to verify their eligibility, and many others are duplicate applications that will be removed from the system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second open enrollment period for Covered California started Nov. 15, 2014, and runs through Feb. 15. That effort impacts Medi-Cal, because many Covered California applicants, if they look like they might be eligible for Medi-Cal, are referred to DHCS. That big bump in Medi-Cal enrollment applications has gone smoothly this time around, DHCS officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Importantly, improvements to our system have resulted in immediate enrollment for more than 80 percent \u003cspan>of new applicants found eligible for Medi-Cal,\" the DHCS statement said. \"We are committed to complying with any court orders and to further improving this process so that all individuals who qualify for coverage can be enrolled in Medi-Cal as quickly as possible.\"\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates praised DHCS for that instant enrollment success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Instant enrollment makes us all happy,\" Flory said. \"They have taken some steps to avoid the backlog, and that's something. They were voluntary steps. Now it's required.\"\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23608 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23608",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/23/judge-rules-on-medi-cal-backlog-orders-timely-access-to-benefits/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 676,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 22
},
"modified": 1422036389,
"excerpt": "The state must process applications in 45 days -- or grant temporary access. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The state must process applications in 45 days -- or grant temporary access. ",
"title": "Judge Rules on Medi-Cal Backlog, Orders Timely Access to Benefits | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Judge Rules on Medi-Cal Backlog, Orders Timely Access to Benefits",
"datePublished": "2015-01-23T10:06:29-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-23T10:06:29-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "judge-rules-on-medi-cal-backlog-orders-timely-access-to-benefits",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23608/judge-rules-on-medi-cal-backlog-orders-timely-access-to-benefits",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2574\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-e1409248436930.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-2574\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/01/Gavel-20111114-620x411.jpg\" alt=\"(s_falkow: Flickr)\" width=\"620\" height=\"411\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(s_falkow: Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By David Gorn,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/judge-finally-rules-on-backlog-lawsuit-orders-state-to-adhere-to-45-day-deadline\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/1/judge-finally-rules-on-backlog-lawsuit-orders-state-to-adhere-to-45-day-deadline\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, an Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/~/media/Files/2015/PDFs/Jan%202015%20MediCal%20injunction.ashx\" target=\"_blank\">preliminary injunction\u003c/a> requiring the state to adhere to a 45-day limit for processing Medi-Cal applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling by Judge Evelio Grillo was a victory for health care advocates in a lawsuit over the state's extensive backlog in processing Medi-Cal applications. The Medi-Cal expansion and the first open enrollment period for Covered California brought millions of applications to the door of the Department of Health Care Services, which oversees Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Computer issues hampered the processing of many of those applications, and in March 2014 the backlog of unprocessed claims peaked at more than 900,000 applications. It took many months to clear the bulk of those applications. Some of them are still hanging fire almost a year later, said Jen Flory, senior attorney in the Sacramento office of the Western Center on Law and Poverty.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They've been working on it, but it's not complete. There are large numbers of people they're still processing, and different counties are reporting different numbers,\" Flory said. \"From our perspective, anytime there's even one person where services are withheld, that's a problem. The number is down, but I would need to see the number zero.\"\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>DHCS officials said the ruling simply reflects changes already made at the department, where recent applications have been processed within the 45-day limit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That action, along with other extensive efforts undertaken throughout 2014, has virtually cleared the number of pending individuals, reducing it by more than 95 percent,\" department officials said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing the math from the peak of 900,000 unprocessed applications, that leaves roughly 45,000 applications still pending from 10 months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That remaining backlog dismays Lucy Quacinella, founder of Multiforum Advocacy Solutions, a private legal firm in San Francisco. Quacinella was lead attorney in the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This ruling is very significant,\" Quacinella said. \"The state made some improvements that never would have happened without the lawsuit. We would absolutely be looking at a growing backlog right now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quacinella said the state now must clear those final pending applications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The ruling requires the department to complete eligibility reviews and give a final decision,\" she said. \"And if the state is unable to do that, they have to grant preliminary eligibility to those who are likely eligible.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DHCS officials said that's happening right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"DHCS is processing the remaining pending applicants this week,\" DHCS officials said in their written release, \"and once all needed verifications of information are complete, eligible individuals will be moved into coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has been a complicated and thorny problem, the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are multiple factors affecting DHCS' ability to process individuals into coverage, including the need to receive documents from applicants to verify eligibility, as well as some technology issues,\" the statement said. \"Of the remaining pending applications, many are individuals who have not yet provided information needed to verify their eligibility, and many others are duplicate applications that will be removed from the system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second open enrollment period for Covered California started Nov. 15, 2014, and runs through Feb. 15. That effort impacts Medi-Cal, because many Covered California applicants, if they look like they might be eligible for Medi-Cal, are referred to DHCS. That big bump in Medi-Cal enrollment applications has gone smoothly this time around, DHCS officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Importantly, improvements to our system have resulted in immediate enrollment for more than 80 percent \u003cspan>of new applicants found eligible for Medi-Cal,\" the DHCS statement said. \"We are committed to complying with any court orders and to further improving this process so that all individuals who qualify for coverage can be enrolled in Medi-Cal as quickly as possible.\"\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates praised DHCS for that instant enrollment success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Instant enrollment makes us all happy,\" Flory said. \"They have taken some steps to avoid the backlog, and that's something. They were voluntary steps. Now it's required.\"\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23608/judge-rules-on-medi-cal-backlog-orders-timely-access-to-benefits",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_11",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_99"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_2574",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23589": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23589",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23589",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1421914311000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1421914311,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "California Bill Would Allow Terminally Ill to End Their Own Lives",
"title": "California Bill Would Allow Terminally Ill to End Their Own Lives",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23592\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23592\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-640x422.png\" alt=\"Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014. (Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)\" width=\"640\" height=\"422\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014.\u003cbr>(Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By April Dembosky\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State lawmakers are renewing a call to give terminally ill patients more say over how and when they die. Senators Lois Wolk of Davis and Bill Monning of Santa Cruz introduced the \"End of Life Option Act\" on Wednesday. The bill would allow physicians to prescribe lethal medication to patients who request it.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow 'aid in dying.'\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Seeing a daughter suffer and die slowly is torture,” said Robert Olvera, whose daughter, Emily Rose, died of leukemia last year at age 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last four months of her life, she was bedridden, blind, and plagued by excruciating headaches that no medicine would alleviate. Olvera, a doctor, says his daughter wished she'd had the option to end her own life.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“'Give me some pills, so I can go to sleep, Daddy. No one should have to live like this,'” Olvera remembers his daughter saying. “She suffered horribly as I sat next to her not being able to do anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new bill, SB128, would allow California doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients like Olvera’s daughter. It would require two doctors to confirm that the patient is mentally competent and unlikely to live more than six months. Patients would have to be able to take the drugs themselves without assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But opponents fear that some older patients could be coerced into taking the drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187242005&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not all families are happy families, and there’s an epidemic of elder and disability abuse,” said Marilyn Golden, senior policy analyst with the Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the bill might create a problem with insurance companies, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct coercion isn’t even necessary. If insurers deny or even merely delay expensive life-sustaining treatment, patients will, in essence, be steered towards doctor-prescribed suicide,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow “aid in dying,” including Montana, Vermont, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon. Data from those last two states show few people actually ask for or take the drugs. In Oregon in 2013, doctors prescribed the drugs to 122 people; 71 actually took them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers have attempted -- and failed -- several times to pass similar laws over the last two decades. But they believe now is the time to try again, particularly as momentum crests from the story of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year old woman terminally ill with brain cancer who moved to Oregon last year to take advantage of the law there. Public opinion polls show increasing support for a law in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maynard, said, ‘I don’t have a suicidal bone in my body. I want to live. But I have terminal cancer that will kill me. Within that death sentence, I choose to have options and to set the terms and conditions of my inevitable death,’ ” Sen. Monning said. “In respect of her courage, we think the End of Life Option Act is appropriate.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23589 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23589",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/22/california-bill-would-allow-terminally-ill-to-end-their-own-lives/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": true,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 544,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/"
],
"paragraphCount": 16
},
"modified": 1421977626,
"excerpt": "If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow 'aid in dying.'",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow 'aid in dying.'",
"title": "California Bill Would Allow Terminally Ill to End Their Own Lives | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "California Bill Would Allow Terminally Ill to End Their Own Lives",
"datePublished": "2015-01-22T00:11:51-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-22T17:47:06-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-bill-would-allow-terminally-ill-to-end-their-own-lives",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23589/california-bill-would-allow-terminally-ill-to-end-their-own-lives",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23592\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23592\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-21-at-10.25.17-PM-640x422.png\" alt=\"Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014. (Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)\" width=\"640\" height=\"422\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittany Maynard, 29, terminally ill with brain cancer, ended her own life on Nov. 1, 2014.\u003cbr>(Compassion and Choices/BrittanyFund.org)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By April Dembosky\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State lawmakers are renewing a call to give terminally ill patients more say over how and when they die. Senators Lois Wolk of Davis and Bill Monning of Santa Cruz introduced the \"End of Life Option Act\" on Wednesday. The bill would allow physicians to prescribe lethal medication to patients who request it.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow 'aid in dying.'\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Seeing a daughter suffer and die slowly is torture,” said Robert Olvera, whose daughter, Emily Rose, died of leukemia last year at age 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last four months of her life, she was bedridden, blind, and plagued by excruciating headaches that no medicine would alleviate. Olvera, a doctor, says his daughter wished she'd had the option to end her own life.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“'Give me some pills, so I can go to sleep, Daddy. No one should have to live like this,'” Olvera remembers his daughter saying. “She suffered horribly as I sat next to her not being able to do anything.”\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 new bill, SB128, would allow California doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients like Olvera’s daughter. It would require two doctors to confirm that the patient is mentally competent and unlikely to live more than six months. Patients would have to be able to take the drugs themselves without assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But opponents fear that some older patients could be coerced into taking the drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187242005&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not all families are happy families, and there’s an epidemic of elder and disability abuse,” said Marilyn Golden, senior policy analyst with the Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the bill might create a problem with insurance companies, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Direct coercion isn’t even necessary. If insurers deny or even merely delay expensive life-sustaining treatment, patients will, in essence, be steered towards doctor-prescribed suicide,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill passes, California would become one of six states that allow “aid in dying,” including Montana, Vermont, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon. Data from those last two states show few people actually ask for or take the drugs. In Oregon in 2013, doctors prescribed the drugs to 122 people; 71 actually took them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers have attempted -- and failed -- several times to pass similar laws over the last two decades. But they believe now is the time to try again, particularly as momentum crests from the story of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year old woman terminally ill with brain cancer who moved to Oregon last year to take advantage of the law there. Public opinion polls show increasing support for a law in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maynard, said, ‘I don’t have a suicidal bone in my body. I want to live. But I have terminal cancer that will kill me. Within that death sentence, I choose to have options and to set the terms and conditions of my inevitable death,’ ” Sen. Monning said. “In respect of her courage, we think the End of Life Option Act is appropriate.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23589/california-bill-would-allow-terminally-ill-to-end-their-own-lives",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_914",
"stateofhealth_913"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23592",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23553": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23553",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23553",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1421778858000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1421778858,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Some Employers Say Same-Sex Couples Must Get Married",
"title": "Some Employers Say Same-Sex Couples Must Get Married",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23555\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23555\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-640x467.jpg\" alt=\"(David Lucas/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"467\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David Lucas/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Julie Appleby,\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/once-same-sex-couples-couldnt-wed-now-some-employers-say-they-must/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/once-same-sex-couples-couldnt-wed-now-some-employers-say-they-must/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Kaiser Health News\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, same-sex couples could not legally marry. Now, some are finding they must wed if they want to keep their partner’s job-based health insurance and other benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Will companies eliminate benefit programs for unmarried partners?\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>With same-sex marriage now legal in 35 states and the District of Columbia, some employers that formerly covered domestic partners say they will require marriage licenses for workers who want those perks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re bringing our benefits in line, making them consistent with what we do for everyone else,” said Ray McConville, a spokesman for Verizon, which notified non-union employees in July that domestic partners in states where same-sex marriage is legal must wed if they want to qualify for such benefits.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest question is: Will companies get rid of benefit programs for unmarried partners?” said Todd Solomon, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago. Employers making the changes say that since couples now have the legal right to marry, they no longer need to provide an alternative. Such rule changes could also apply to opposite-sex partners covered under domestic partner arrangements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is legal for employers to set eligibility requirements for the benefits they offer workers and their families — although some states, such as California, bar employers from excluding same-sex partners from benefits. But some benefit consultants and advocacy groups say there are legal, financial and other reasons why couples may not want to marry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requiring marriage licenses is “a little bossy” and feels like “it’s not a voluntary choice at that point,” said Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, an organization advocating for gay, lesbian and transgender people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner benefits, but only a minority is changing the rules to require tying the knot, said Deena Fidas, director of the workplace equality program at the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because same-sex marriage isn’t legal in all states, “many employers operating in multiple states … are retaining their partner benefit structures,” said Fidas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most companies making the changes, including Verizon, are doing so only in those states where same-sex couples can get married. And most give workers some time to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We gave them a year and a quarter to get married,” said Jim Redmond, spokesman for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, which made the change for employees shortly after New York allowed same-sex unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers that offer domestic partner benefits — for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners — generally allow couples in committed relationships to qualify for health and other benefits upon providing documents, such as financial statements, wills, rental agreements or mortgages, proving they are responsible for each other financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such benefits were particularly important before the federal health law barred insurers from rejecting people with pre-existing medical conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had clients over the years who were living with HIV … the only health insurance they had, or had hope of getting was their partner’s, through a job,” said Daniel Bruner, director of legal services at the Whitman-Walker Health clinic in Washington DC. “Now folks have more health insurance options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Supreme Court ruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in 2013, the portion of the health insurance premium paid by employers on behalf of the same-sex spouse was no longer taxable under federal rules, although state taxes often applied where such marriages were not legal. When state marriage laws change, so do those tax rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Arizona, Dena Sidmore and her wife, Cherilyn Walley are saving more than $300 a month in taxes on the health insurance from Walley’s state job, which covers them both. The savings came after the state’s same-sex marriage bar was thrown out by the courts in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They didn’t marry for benefits. They already had coverage under domestic partner requirements affecting Arizona state workers. They simply wanted to be married. Indeed, they tied the knot in September 2013, after driving all night to Santa Fe, N.M., where same-sex marriage was legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was lovely,” Sidmore said of the ceremony at the courthouse. But for her, the real change came when Arizona’s bar on same-sex marriage was overturned by the courts. She remembers thinking: “This is real. It’s not just a piece of paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the courts lifted the same-sex marriage ban, Arizona dropped its domestic partner program. State workers had until the end of last year to marry if they wanted to keep a partner on benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sidmore has no objection to employers requiring a marriage license for benefits because “spousal benefits require marriage,” although she thinks there should be exceptions for older residents who might face the loss of pensions or other financial complications if they remarry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benefit experts recommend that employers consider what it might mean for workers if benefits are linked to marital status — especially those that operate in states where same-sex marriage is not legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some couples, like Sidmore and Walley, may be willing to travel to tie the knot, others may not want to, or may be unable to afford it. Additionally, some workers may fear if they marry, then move or get transferred to a state where same-sex marriage is barred, they would face discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joe Incorvati, a managing director at KPMG in New Jersey, married his partner, Chuck, in 2013 when it became an option. “We’d been together for 38 years, so it just seemed natural,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KPMG offers domestic partner benefits and does not require employees to be married for eligibility. While he’s comfortable in New Jersey, Incorvati said it could be a problem if his company wanted to transfer him to a state where same sex marriage is not legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though his work benefits would remain the same, “Would I have the same rights as in New Jersey?” Incorvati asked. “The answer may be no.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news organization covering health care policy and politics. It is an editorially independent program of the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.kff.org/\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Kaiser Family Foundation\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23553 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23553",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/20/some-employers-say-same-sex-couples-must-get-married/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1093,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 28
},
"modified": 1421778858,
"excerpt": "It's all about keeping health insurance and other employee benefits.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "It's all about keeping health insurance and other employee benefits.",
"title": "Some Employers Say Same-Sex Couples Must Get Married | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Some Employers Say Same-Sex Couples Must Get Married",
"datePublished": "2015-01-20T10:34:18-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-20T10:34:18-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "some-employers-say-same-sex-couples-must-get-married",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23553/some-employers-say-same-sex-couples-must-get-married",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23555\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-e1421777622969.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23555\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/2121896-640x467.jpg\" alt=\"(David Lucas/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"467\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David Lucas/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Julie Appleby,\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/once-same-sex-couples-couldnt-wed-now-some-employers-say-they-must/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/once-same-sex-couples-couldnt-wed-now-some-employers-say-they-must/\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cstrong> Kaiser Health News\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, same-sex couples could not legally marry. Now, some are finding they must wed if they want to keep their partner’s job-based health insurance and other benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Will companies eliminate benefit programs for unmarried partners?\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>With same-sex marriage now legal in 35 states and the District of Columbia, some employers that formerly covered domestic partners say they will require marriage licenses for workers who want those perks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re bringing our benefits in line, making them consistent with what we do for everyone else,” said Ray McConville, a spokesman for Verizon, which notified non-union employees in July that domestic partners in states where same-sex marriage is legal must wed if they want to qualify for such benefits.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest question is: Will companies get rid of benefit programs for unmarried partners?” said Todd Solomon, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago. Employers making the changes say that since couples now have the legal right to marry, they no longer need to provide an alternative. Such rule changes could also apply to opposite-sex partners covered under domestic partner arrangements.\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>It is legal for employers to set eligibility requirements for the benefits they offer workers and their families — although some states, such as California, bar employers from excluding same-sex partners from benefits. But some benefit consultants and advocacy groups say there are legal, financial and other reasons why couples may not want to marry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requiring marriage licenses is “a little bossy” and feels like “it’s not a voluntary choice at that point,” said Jennifer Pizer, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, an organization advocating for gay, lesbian and transgender people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner benefits, but only a minority is changing the rules to require tying the knot, said Deena Fidas, director of the workplace equality program at the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because same-sex marriage isn’t legal in all states, “many employers operating in multiple states … are retaining their partner benefit structures,” said Fidas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most companies making the changes, including Verizon, are doing so only in those states where same-sex couples can get married. And most give workers some time to do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We gave them a year and a quarter to get married,” said Jim Redmond, spokesman for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, which made the change for employees shortly after New York allowed same-sex unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employers that offer domestic partner benefits — for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners — generally allow couples in committed relationships to qualify for health and other benefits upon providing documents, such as financial statements, wills, rental agreements or mortgages, proving they are responsible for each other financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such benefits were particularly important before the federal health law barred insurers from rejecting people with pre-existing medical conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had clients over the years who were living with HIV … the only health insurance they had, or had hope of getting was their partner’s, through a job,” said Daniel Bruner, director of legal services at the Whitman-Walker Health clinic in Washington DC. “Now folks have more health insurance options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Supreme Court ruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in 2013, the portion of the health insurance premium paid by employers on behalf of the same-sex spouse was no longer taxable under federal rules, although state taxes often applied where such marriages were not legal. When state marriage laws change, so do those tax rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Arizona, Dena Sidmore and her wife, Cherilyn Walley are saving more than $300 a month in taxes on the health insurance from Walley’s state job, which covers them both. The savings came after the state’s same-sex marriage bar was thrown out by the courts in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They didn’t marry for benefits. They already had coverage under domestic partner requirements affecting Arizona state workers. They simply wanted to be married. Indeed, they tied the knot in September 2013, after driving all night to Santa Fe, N.M., where same-sex marriage was legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was lovely,” Sidmore said of the ceremony at the courthouse. But for her, the real change came when Arizona’s bar on same-sex marriage was overturned by the courts. She remembers thinking: “This is real. It’s not just a piece of paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the courts lifted the same-sex marriage ban, Arizona dropped its domestic partner program. State workers had until the end of last year to marry if they wanted to keep a partner on benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sidmore has no objection to employers requiring a marriage license for benefits because “spousal benefits require marriage,” although she thinks there should be exceptions for older residents who might face the loss of pensions or other financial complications if they remarry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benefit experts recommend that employers consider what it might mean for workers if benefits are linked to marital status — especially those that operate in states where same-sex marriage is not legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some couples, like Sidmore and Walley, may be willing to travel to tie the knot, others may not want to, or may be unable to afford it. Additionally, some workers may fear if they marry, then move or get transferred to a state where same-sex marriage is barred, they would face discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joe Incorvati, a managing director at KPMG in New Jersey, married his partner, Chuck, in 2013 when it became an option. “We’d been together for 38 years, so it just seemed natural,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KPMG offers domestic partner benefits and does not require employees to be married for eligibility. While he’s comfortable in New Jersey, Incorvati said it could be a problem if his company wanted to transfer him to a state where same sex marriage is not legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though his work benefits would remain the same, “Would I have the same rights as in New Jersey?” Incorvati asked. “The answer may be no.”\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>\u003cem>Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news organization covering health care policy and politics. It is an editorially independent program of the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.kff.org/\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Kaiser Family Foundation\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23553/some-employers-say-same-sex-couples-must-get-married",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23555",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23522": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23522",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23522",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1421522963000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1421522963,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Kaiser Nurses Reach Agreement, Call Off Strike",
"title": "Kaiser Nurses Reach Agreement, Call Off Strike",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_22548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-22548\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-640x432.jpg\" alt=\"Nurses carry signs as they strike outside of Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Francisco last week. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"432\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser nurses staged a two-day strike in November, citing concerns about Ebola preparedness. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Nurses' Association has called off a two-day strike scheduled to begin Wednesday after reaching a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente on a new three-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nurses' bargaining team is recommending ratification of the proposed contract that would affect 18,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at 86 Kaiser sites throughout Northern and Central California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really, really a good deal,\" said Diane McClure, a nurse at Kaiser's South Sacramento facility and a member of the bargaining team, adding that the strike threat strengthened the nurses' position with Kaiser. \"They saw the momentum the nurses had. They didn’t want us out in the public, because they knew the public was behind us.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser issued a statement saying it was pleased with the economic priorities accomplished by the agreement, including \"slowing the growth of our long-term liabilities,\" and offering benefits to nurses that are \"consistent with our commitment to affordability.\"\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement comes after months of contentious negotiations. The first bargaining meetings, originally scheduled for August, were delayed by several weeks when both sides disagreed over where to meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses conducted a two-day strike in November, citing a lack of adequate Ebola protections as a top complaint - a concern that was later resolved after the union convinced Gov. Jerry Brown to pass new regulations that required hospitals to provide the kind of training and protective gear the union demanded. The nurses had a list of more than 30 other demands that focused on workload and patient safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the economic front, nurses made no additional requests beyond their last contract, which included annual raises for nurses, full health care coverage, and 100 percent employer-paid pensions and retiree health benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn't until after the November strike that Kaiser put any proposals on the table. As of earlier this week, the hospital system was requesting various new cost-sharing measures, according to nurses involved in the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One would require nurses to pay higher co-pays when they sought medical services for themselves and their families at a Kaiser facility, a measure pursued by many employers nationwide as a way to reduce unnecessary use of the health care system. McClure says nurses agreed to a version of this request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it’s extremely minimal cost sharing,” she said. “It’s extremely reasonable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another proposal would have required retired nurses to contribute toward the costs of their health care, starting in ten years. And another would have tied future negotiations over pensions to agreements reached by other unions. McClure says the nurses rejected both of these proposals, and that nurses’ retirement benefits remained in tact, “for the most part.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser awarded nurses several of their requests on working conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most important, McClure says, is that Kaiser will now advertise job listings for vacant nursing positions, a move she says is critical for easing the work load of current nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser also agreed to provide supplemental insurance to nurses who are hurt on the job, or become ill at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Kaiser will provide a 14 percent salary increase to all nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement is a timely and clear reminder that differences are best resolved at the bargaining table, and not on the picket line,” said John Nelson, Kaiser’s vice president of government relations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to averting a second nurses’ strike, Kaiser is currently facing an ongoing strike by 2,500 of its psychologists and therapists. That week-long strike is scheduled to end Monday morning. The union for mental health professionals, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, has been bargaining with Kaiser for four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson said the agreement with the nurses was the result of intensive, productive negotiations that became very serious in early December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital system is trying to control future costs and liabilities associated with its pension obligations and retiree health benefits, challenges that are shared by many other health care organizations and employers across the country, Nelson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We try to work together with labor organizations that represent our employees to find solutions to those challenges,” Nelson said, though he declined to discuss details of the agreement that might address those challenges, because the union had not had a chance to ratify it yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at the comprehensive nature of all the pieces of the agreement, we are pleased that it helps us meet our objectives,” he said. “We wanted to offer benefits to our nurses that are consistent with making this a great place to work, while meeting affordability for our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23522 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23522",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/17/nurses-strike-called-off/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 808,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 23
},
"modified": 1421536139,
"excerpt": "The proposed contract would cover 18,000 nurses at Kaiser sites across Northern California.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The proposed contract would cover 18,000 nurses at Kaiser sites across Northern California.",
"title": "Kaiser Nurses Reach Agreement, Call Off Strike | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Kaiser Nurses Reach Agreement, Call Off Strike",
"datePublished": "2015-01-17T11:29:23-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-17T15:08:59-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "nurses-strike-called-off",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23522/nurses-strike-called-off",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_22548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-e1416265695728.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-22548\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/458806130-640x432.jpg\" alt=\"Nurses carry signs as they strike outside of Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Francisco last week. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"432\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser nurses staged a two-day strike in November, citing concerns about Ebola preparedness. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Nurses' Association has called off a two-day strike scheduled to begin Wednesday after reaching a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente on a new three-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nurses' bargaining team is recommending ratification of the proposed contract that would affect 18,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at 86 Kaiser sites throughout Northern and Central California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really, really a good deal,\" said Diane McClure, a nurse at Kaiser's South Sacramento facility and a member of the bargaining team, adding that the strike threat strengthened the nurses' position with Kaiser. \"They saw the momentum the nurses had. They didn’t want us out in the public, because they knew the public was behind us.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser issued a statement saying it was pleased with the economic priorities accomplished by the agreement, including \"slowing the growth of our long-term liabilities,\" and offering benefits to nurses that are \"consistent with our commitment to affordability.\"\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement comes after months of contentious negotiations. The first bargaining meetings, originally scheduled for August, were delayed by several weeks when both sides disagreed over where to meet.\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>Nurses conducted a two-day strike in November, citing a lack of adequate Ebola protections as a top complaint - a concern that was later resolved after the union convinced Gov. Jerry Brown to pass new regulations that required hospitals to provide the kind of training and protective gear the union demanded. The nurses had a list of more than 30 other demands that focused on workload and patient safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the economic front, nurses made no additional requests beyond their last contract, which included annual raises for nurses, full health care coverage, and 100 percent employer-paid pensions and retiree health benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn't until after the November strike that Kaiser put any proposals on the table. As of earlier this week, the hospital system was requesting various new cost-sharing measures, according to nurses involved in the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One would require nurses to pay higher co-pays when they sought medical services for themselves and their families at a Kaiser facility, a measure pursued by many employers nationwide as a way to reduce unnecessary use of the health care system. McClure says nurses agreed to a version of this request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it’s extremely minimal cost sharing,” she said. “It’s extremely reasonable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another proposal would have required retired nurses to contribute toward the costs of their health care, starting in ten years. And another would have tied future negotiations over pensions to agreements reached by other unions. McClure says the nurses rejected both of these proposals, and that nurses’ retirement benefits remained in tact, “for the most part.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser awarded nurses several of their requests on working conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most important, McClure says, is that Kaiser will now advertise job listings for vacant nursing positions, a move she says is critical for easing the work load of current nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser also agreed to provide supplemental insurance to nurses who are hurt on the job, or become ill at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Kaiser will provide a 14 percent salary increase to all nurses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This agreement is a timely and clear reminder that differences are best resolved at the bargaining table, and not on the picket line,” said John Nelson, Kaiser’s vice president of government relations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to averting a second nurses’ strike, Kaiser is currently facing an ongoing strike by 2,500 of its psychologists and therapists. That week-long strike is scheduled to end Monday morning. The union for mental health professionals, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, has been bargaining with Kaiser for four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson said the agreement with the nurses was the result of intensive, productive negotiations that became very serious in early December.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital system is trying to control future costs and liabilities associated with its pension obligations and retiree health benefits, challenges that are shared by many other health care organizations and employers across the country, Nelson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We try to work together with labor organizations that represent our employees to find solutions to those challenges,” Nelson said, though he declined to discuss details of the agreement that might address those challenges, because the union had not had a chance to ratify it yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you look at the comprehensive nature of all the pieces of the agreement, we are pleased that it helps us meet our objectives,” he said. “We wanted to offer benefits to our nurses that are consistent with making this a great place to work, while meeting affordability for our patients.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23522/nurses-strike-called-off",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_814",
"stateofhealth_803"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_22548",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23404": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23404",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23404",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1420841406000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1420841406,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Gov. Brown: 'Not A Lot Left in Budget' to Cover Undocumented",
"title": "Gov. Brown: 'Not A Lot Left in Budget' to Cover Undocumented",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_9899\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-9899\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-620x443.jpg\" alt=\"(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"443\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled his $164.7 billion\u003ca title=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov\" href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\"> budget proposal\u003c/a> Friday and while health figures big, the governor also stopped short of funding some key advocacy goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, there's no money set aside in the budget to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. The \"\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/01/senator-to-re-introduce-health-insurance-bill-for-undocumented-immigrants/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/01/senator-to-re-introduce-health-insurance-bill-for-undocumented-immigrants/\" target=\"_blank\">Health for All Act\u003c/a>\" was re-introduced in December, after falling short in the legislature last year. But when Brown was asked specifically about covering the undocumented, he said \"There's not a lot of money left in the budget. … It's very tight.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there are the million undocumented immigrants in California estimated to be eligible for deferred action under \u003ca title=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365519963/obama-will-announce-relief-for-up-to-5-million-immigrants\" href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365519963/obama-will-announce-relief-for-up-to-5-million-immigrants\" target=\"_blank\">President Obama's executive order\u003c/a>. Advocates say that these immigrants, once approved for deferred action, \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/20/newly-protected-immigrants-will-be-eligible-for-medi-cal-advocates-say/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/20/newly-protected-immigrants-will-be-eligible-for-medi-cal-advocates-say/\" target=\"_blank\">become eligible for Medi-Cal\u003c/a>, as long as they qualify by income.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown isn't so sure, and there's no money in the budget to cover this population for Medi-Cal benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We were very disappointed that these individuals were not included in the Medi-Cal estimates,\" said Linda Nguy with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Immigrants who qualified for President Obama's 2012 order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, (DACA) are eligible for Medi-Cal. California covers many categories of immigrants more generously than federal law requires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But advocates say they are not deterred. \"We will push this year to ensure access to coverage for all Californians, regardless of immigration status,\" said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Costs of Surging Medi-Cal Enrollment\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal enrollment has expanded dramatically under the Affordable Care Act. The budget estimates the caseload to reach 12.2 million people this year up from 7.9 million people in 2012-13, before the ACA went into effect. It is likely that enrollment should stabilize soon. More than two million people signed up last year, the first year of the Affordable Care Act, but the budget proposal estimates only another 300,000 or so people signing up in the 2015-16 budget year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his budget presentation Brown said at least three times \"California is doing more than other states,\" to mitigate the effects of poverty. (He may be sounding a bit defensive because his \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/09/the-shrewd-politics-of-jerry-brown-new-california-budget/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/09/the-shrewd-politics-of-jerry-brown-new-california-budget/\" target=\"_blank\">budget does little \u003c/a>to restore deep safety-net recession era budget cuts.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the federal government is picking up 100 percent of the cost of people who are newly eligible for the program, plenty of other people are signing up who were eligible before, but not enrolled. The federal government only pays 50 percent of the cost of this population; the state pays the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown's budget presumes $940 million in state costs for this \"previously eligible\" population. But there's an offset. Before the implementation of the ACA, the state had sent money to the counties to provide indigent care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the budget, the state anticipates saving roughly $700 million in what it had been sending to the counties for both the 2014-15 budget year and the upcoming one. In other words, the net cost for the previously eligible population is about $200 million this year in state dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most Medi-Cal beneficiaries are now enrolled in a managed care plan. While Medi-Cal enrollment can happen any time, Brown is proposing to institute a 90-day open enrollment period that would be the only time people would be able to change managed care plans. The move would save $1.6 million, and \"supports continuity of care.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other Social Programs\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown is also proposing ending the 7 percent reduction in in-home supportive services (IHSS) hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is not budgeting any increase in SSI grants. The federal government will provide a maximum $11 monthly increase for individuals and $16 for families.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23404 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23404",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/09/gov-brown-not-a-lot-left-in-budget-to-cover-undocumented/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 635,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 18
},
"modified": 1421074250,
"excerpt": "The governor continues to urge fiscal restraint.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The governor continues to urge fiscal restraint.",
"title": "Gov. Brown: 'Not A Lot Left in Budget' to Cover Undocumented | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Gov. Brown: 'Not A Lot Left in Budget' to Cover Undocumented",
"datePublished": "2015-01-09T14:10:06-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-12T06:50:50-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "gov-brown-not-a-lot-left-in-budget-to-cover-undocumented",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23404/gov-brown-not-a-lot-left-in-budget-to-cover-undocumented",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_9899\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-e1389301025994.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-9899\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/01/brown20130110-620x443.jpg\" alt=\"(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"443\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled his $164.7 billion\u003ca title=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov\" href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\"> budget proposal\u003c/a> Friday and while health figures big, the governor also stopped short of funding some key advocacy goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, there's no money set aside in the budget to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. The \"\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/01/senator-to-re-introduce-health-insurance-bill-for-undocumented-immigrants/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/01/senator-to-re-introduce-health-insurance-bill-for-undocumented-immigrants/\" target=\"_blank\">Health for All Act\u003c/a>\" was re-introduced in December, after falling short in the legislature last year. But when Brown was asked specifically about covering the undocumented, he said \"There's not a lot of money left in the budget. … It's very tight.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there are the million undocumented immigrants in California estimated to be eligible for deferred action under \u003ca title=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365519963/obama-will-announce-relief-for-up-to-5-million-immigrants\" href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365519963/obama-will-announce-relief-for-up-to-5-million-immigrants\" target=\"_blank\">President Obama's executive order\u003c/a>. Advocates say that these immigrants, once approved for deferred action, \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/20/newly-protected-immigrants-will-be-eligible-for-medi-cal-advocates-say/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/20/newly-protected-immigrants-will-be-eligible-for-medi-cal-advocates-say/\" target=\"_blank\">become eligible for Medi-Cal\u003c/a>, as long as they qualify by income.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown isn't so sure, and there's no money in the budget to cover this population for Medi-Cal benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We were very disappointed that these individuals were not included in the Medi-Cal estimates,\" said Linda Nguy with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Immigrants who qualified for President Obama's 2012 order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, (DACA) are eligible for Medi-Cal. California covers many categories of immigrants more generously than federal law requires.\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>But advocates say they are not deterred. \"We will push this year to ensure access to coverage for all Californians, regardless of immigration status,\" said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Costs of Surging Medi-Cal Enrollment\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal enrollment has expanded dramatically under the Affordable Care Act. The budget estimates the caseload to reach 12.2 million people this year up from 7.9 million people in 2012-13, before the ACA went into effect. It is likely that enrollment should stabilize soon. More than two million people signed up last year, the first year of the Affordable Care Act, but the budget proposal estimates only another 300,000 or so people signing up in the 2015-16 budget year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his budget presentation Brown said at least three times \"California is doing more than other states,\" to mitigate the effects of poverty. (He may be sounding a bit defensive because his \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/09/the-shrewd-politics-of-jerry-brown-new-california-budget/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/09/the-shrewd-politics-of-jerry-brown-new-california-budget/\" target=\"_blank\">budget does little \u003c/a>to restore deep safety-net recession era budget cuts.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the federal government is picking up 100 percent of the cost of people who are newly eligible for the program, plenty of other people are signing up who were eligible before, but not enrolled. The federal government only pays 50 percent of the cost of this population; the state pays the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown's budget presumes $940 million in state costs for this \"previously eligible\" population. But there's an offset. Before the implementation of the ACA, the state had sent money to the counties to provide indigent care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the budget, the state anticipates saving roughly $700 million in what it had been sending to the counties for both the 2014-15 budget year and the upcoming one. In other words, the net cost for the previously eligible population is about $200 million this year in state dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most Medi-Cal beneficiaries are now enrolled in a managed care plan. While Medi-Cal enrollment can happen any time, Brown is proposing to institute a 90-day open enrollment period that would be the only time people would be able to change managed care plans. The move would save $1.6 million, and \"supports continuity of care.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other Social Programs\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown is also proposing ending the 7 percent reduction in in-home supportive services (IHSS) hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is not budgeting any increase in SSI grants. The federal government will provide a maximum $11 monthly increase for individuals and $16 for families.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23404/gov-brown-not-a-lot-left-in-budget-to-cover-undocumented",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_99",
"stateofhealth_489"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_9899",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23341": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23341",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23341",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1420652602000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "plenty-of-responsibility-but-no-required-training-for-in-home-caregivers",
"title": "Plenty of Responsibility, But No Required Training, for In-Home Caregivers",
"publishDate": 1420652602,
"format": "aside",
"headTitle": "Plenty of Responsibility, But No Required Training, for In-Home Caregivers | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23344\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Anna Gorman,\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born just a year apart, Oliver Massengale and his brother Charles grew up together. Now, in a two-story home in Compton, they are growing old together. But Charles Massengale, 71, can do little on his own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure. Six years ago, Oliver took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver. He’s paid about $10.00 an hour by the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was not a job he was trained to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t have a clue,” said Oliver, a retired grounds manager at a college. “I was just so afraid of what I was doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He constantly worried –- about giving Charles the wrong medication, about him getting bedsores, about his blood pressure. And he had no idea how easily his brother could fall over. One day, he was cooking and Charles was on a stool at the kitchen counter.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I heard BAM,” he said. “I turned around and he was on the kitchen floor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-5-e1420584871222.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23346\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-5-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver Massengale needs to make sure his brother takes his medicine. He says Charles has a tendency to keep them in his mouth and forget to swallow them (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oliver Massengale needs to make sure his brother takes his medicine. He says Charles has a tendency to keep them in his mouth and forget to swallow them (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>No overall training is required for the more than 400,000 caregivers in California’s $7.3 billion In-Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS) for low-income elderly and disabled residents. Without instruction even in CPR or first aid, these caregivers can quickly become overwhelmed and their sick or disabled clients can get hurt, according to interviews with caregivers, advocates and elder abuse experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of training is “of enormous concern,” said Gary Passmore, a vice president of the Congress of California Seniors, an advocacy organization. “We are dealing with a lot of frail, elderly people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The need for in-home caregivers is rising as the elderly and disabled population grows. The demand for personal aides –- most of whom work in the home — is expected to increase by 37 percent over the next decade, requiring about 1.3 million new positions, according to \u003ca title=\"http://phinational.org/sites/phinational.org/files/phi-factsheet14update-12052014.pdf\" href=\"http://phinational.org/sites/phinational.org/files/phi-factsheet14update-12052014.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research published last year\u003c/a> by the New-York based Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, an advocacy group that also provides training\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government is trying to meet that need by stepping up efforts to expand and train the work force. But for now, there are no federal training requirements for in-home-caregivers. It’s up to states to set them in Medicaid-funded programs like California’s. As a result, training policies vary dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Often Providing Medical Care \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s IHSS program, clients are in charge of hiring, managing and training their own caregivers. The program stands out because of its sheer size — it is the nation’s largest publicly-funded home care program –- and because such a high percentage of caregivers are relatives directly employed by the clients rather than agencies, said Abby Marquand, director of policy research for the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a lot easier to ensure a minimum level of training if the person is employed through an agency,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>IHSS was never intended to be a medical program. The caregivers are distinct from visiting nurses and the certified home health aides often dispatched after a hospital stay. IHSS caregivers are not certified or licensed and are hired to do personal care and household tasks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more than a quarter of IHSS clients are 80 or over, and many have chronic health conditions or dementia. In these and other cases, caregivers can end up providing basic medical care -– helping to administer insulin shots, manage other medication or dress wounds, for instance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23348\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-3rev.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23348\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-3rev-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Massengale can eat by himself, but needs help with everything else. The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charles Massengale can eat by himself, but needs help with everything else. The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When such “paramedical” services are needed by individual clients, IHSS caregivers are required to get instruction and approval from a health care professional. But the state doesn’t sponsor the training or pay caregivers more for getting it. Only 12 percent of clients have caregivers who have received it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eileen Carroll, deputy director of the California Department of Social Services, which oversees IHSS, said the program doesn’t have a lot of training requirements because it was set up to give clients the choice of how they want their care delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For caregivers who want it, the state offers comprehensive \u003ca title=\"http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/PG3366.htm\" href=\"http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/PG3366.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voluntary training information online\u003c/a> on topics such as fall prevention and use of medical equipment, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said many people are fully able to direct their own care and supervise their caregivers, but some aren’t. “Our task is how to work harder to support those who have greater need,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver Massengale, for example, can’t depend on his brother to tell him what he wants or needs — Charles no longer talks much. “Because of the nature of the injuries and his different ailments, he could never train,” Oliver said. “He can’t even take care of himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The situation worsened recently because Charles’ health insurance plan changed, and he no longer is being visited by a nurse. So every day Oliver sits inches from Charles, checking his blood pressure and blood sugar and coaching him step-by-step on how to inject insulin into his own arm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hold the back of that needle up,” he told Charles on a recent day. “Put it in right there. Now pump the medicine in. Good, good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he heard about a training class in Los Angeles, Oliver said he jumped at the chance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I’d had this class in advance, it would have made it a lot easier,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/192785628″ 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>\u003cstrong>A Sensitive Matter\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether to require training for those who care for California’s 490,000 low-income elderly and disabled home care clients is a sensitive political — and personal — issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said the state is in a tough situation. Training is a positive thing, she said, “but you have a very strong adult disabled community in this program who … oppose any mandatory training.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many disability rights advocates say a training mandate would make it more difficult for IHSS consumers to find caregivers, chip away at clients’ autonomy and drain resources from the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of choice is really paramount,” said Deborah Doctor, legislative advocate at Disability Rights California. “Anything that puts a requirement that erodes that choice is a problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-2-e1420585465561.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23349\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-2-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Frances Chuc brushes her husband’s hair. Jorge Chuc has been paralyzed for more than 30 years and needs full-time care from his wife. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frances Chuc brushes her husband’s hair. Jorge Chuc has been paralyzed for more than 30 years and needs full-time care from his wife. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Relatives, who make up nearly three-quarters of paid IHSS caregivers, often say they know what is best for their loved ones. And clients are inclined to trust family members and say they can instruct them on what they need\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A mother who has been taking care of a child for 20 or 30 or 40 years doesn’t need mandatory training on how to take care of that person,” Doctor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Training should be made available to those who want it, but should be entirely voluntary, said Nancy Becker Kennedy, who was paralyzed in a diving accident 40 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”ZDWZeL7IA0WaNYn7VwnhrQXAGx4kEPFd”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no one size fits all,” said Becker Kennedy, who founded IHSS Consumers Union, a group that advocates for both consumers and workers. “The population is much too diverse to mandate anything across the board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many other clients agree. Sheela Gunn-Cushman, who is blind, diabetic and has mild cerebral palsy, lives with roommates in San Lorenzo, Calif., with the help of an IHSS caregiver whom she trained herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t feel like anyone is capable of training a [caregiver] about what I need better than I do,” she said. “I am capable of telling them what I need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A union that represents caregivers, however, sees advantages to a minimum level of training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West proposed a \u003ca title=\"http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/16457\" href=\"http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/16457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide initiative\u003c/a> last year that would have required 75 hours of training, but the union didn’t get enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. SEIU plans to try again for the 2016 ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requiring training would “save lives,” said Loretta Jackson, who serves on the union’s executive board and is an IHSS caregiver in Sacramento. It would also reduce the risk of injuries to caregivers, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson cares for her sister, who was left partially paralyzed by a stroke 15 years ago. When Jackson first started, she had to call paramedics every few weeks because her sister would fall. Once, Jackson said, her sister took too many pills and started shaking violently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I started panicking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other caregivers tell similar stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ariana Ramos, 28, who is taking a training class, said a paralyzed client got a bed sore after sleeping in his wheelchair. Ramos thought it would heal on its own, but it just got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now I know that we need to keep it covered up,” said Ramos, who lives in South Gate. “Now I know about bacteria and all the things that could get in a bed sore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23350\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-4rev.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23350\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-4rev-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Frances Chuc takes a break after a morning of taking care of her paraplegic husband. She says taking care of her husband is daunting, but her previous experience as a caregiver has helped (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frances Chuc takes a break after a morning of taking care of her paraplegic husband. She says taking care of her husband is daunting, but her previous experience as a caregiver has helped (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Caregivers without any medical background or training may not know when to call 911 or how to recognize a heart attack or stroke, said Frances Chuc, who takes care of her paralyzed husband at their home in South Gate and was trained as a nurse aide before she met him. “That person could die in their hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A little bit of training can go a long way, said Joanne Spetz, director of UC San Francisco’s newly created Health Workforce Research Center. It can help caregivers recognize when their clients are having bad reactions to medications, for instance, or help them safely lift a person to avoid falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Training can also reduce turnover in a field that has low job retention, said Marquand of the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several states are experimenting with different models of training. Washington State, for example,\u003ca title=\"http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/individual-providers\" href=\"http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/individual-providers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> began requiring 75 hours of training\u003c/a> for home caregivers in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn’t make sense that caregivers in the home require less training nationwide than caregivers in nursing homes, said Charissa Raynor, executive director of the SEIU Healthcare NW Training Partnership, which trains 40,000 providers annually. (Certified aides in nursing homes are required by the federal government to have 75 hours of training.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Washington initiative, Raynor said, will help professionalize the workforce, reduce on-the-job injuries and lead to better care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone has been happy with the new mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of folks who just want to be a caregiver in someone’s home,” said Betty Schwieterman, director of systems advocacy at Disability Rights Washington. “They are not on a career path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Grants From The Government\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over mandatory training is far from resolved. But in the meantime, the federal government is putting money into pilot training efforts in various states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through the Affordable Care Act, it has awarded about \u003ca title=\"http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/phcast.html\" href=\"http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/phcast.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$15 million in grants to California\u003c/a> and five other states to recruit and train qualified caregivers for the elderly and disabled populations\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>Classes started in 2011 in cities throughout the state, including San Francisco, Anaheim and Walnut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The class Massengale attended is part of a separate federal grant of nearly $12 million given to the California Long-Term Care Education Center in Los Angeles. The center is training about 6,000 IHSS caregivers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An early evaluation of the program, as yet unpublished, by UC San Francisco researchers shows that clients with trained providers are less likely to go to the emergency room or be admitted to a hospital than those with untrained providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corinne Eldridge, who runs the program, said trained caregivers can play an important role on a client’s health care team. “They can be the eyes and the ears in the home … and communicate back to the health care provider,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent session in Compton, about two dozen caregivers gathered in a classroom at the public library, their binders of training materials spread out before them. The topic of the day was preventing bed sores and controlling infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The teacher, nurse Lori Picou, asked the class about the signs and symptoms of infection. The students yelled out answers: Redness. Fever. Fluid or discharge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One offered a story about a bruise that swelled up like a basketball. Another said her paralyzed son was sweating so much that she had to repeatedly change his shirt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picou reminded the group to wash their hands frequently. “It is one of the most important things an individual can ever do to help control infection,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver Massengale, who is in the class, said he is feeling a little bit more confident about keeping his brother safe. “The more I learn, the better I am to cope with this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But being a caregiver for someone with so many health conditions is still scary to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I come down those stairs,” he said, “I am saying a prayer and just hoping that everything is all right when I get to the bottom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca title=\"Kaiser Health News\" href=\"www.kaiserhealthnews.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News \u003c/a>is an editorially independent program of the \u003ca title=\"Kaiser Family Foundation\" href=\"www.kff.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The lack of instruction in California program, even CPR and first aid, puts clients at risk, experts say.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721150389,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 70,
"wordCount": 2461
},
"headData": {
"title": "Plenty of Responsibility, But No Required Training, for In-Home Caregivers",
"description": "The lack of instruction in California program, even CPR and first aid, puts clients at risk, experts say.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Plenty of Responsibility, But No Required Training, for In-Home Caregivers",
"datePublished": "2015-01-07T09:43:22-08:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-16T10:19:49-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"sticky": false,
"path": "/stateofhealth/23341/plenty-of-responsibility-but-no-required-training-for-in-home-caregivers",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-e1420584165747.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23344\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-7-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oliver Massengale took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver six years ago. He says he hasn’t had time for himself in years. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Anna Gorman,\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/lots-of-responsibility-for-in-home-care-providers-but-no-training-required/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born just a year apart, Oliver Massengale and his brother Charles grew up together. Now, in a two-story home in Compton, they are growing old together. But Charles Massengale, 71, can do little on his own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure. Six years ago, Oliver took over as his brother’s full-time caregiver. He’s paid about $10.00 an hour by the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was not a job he was trained to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t have a clue,” said Oliver, a retired grounds manager at a college. “I was just so afraid of what I was doing.”\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>He constantly worried –- about giving Charles the wrong medication, about him getting bedsores, about his blood pressure. And he had no idea how easily his brother could fall over. One day, he was cooking and Charles was on a stool at the kitchen counter.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I heard BAM,” he said. “I turned around and he was on the kitchen floor.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-5-e1420584871222.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23346\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-5-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver Massengale needs to make sure his brother takes his medicine. He says Charles has a tendency to keep them in his mouth and forget to swallow them (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oliver Massengale needs to make sure his brother takes his medicine. He says Charles has a tendency to keep them in his mouth and forget to swallow them (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>No overall training is required for the more than 400,000 caregivers in California’s $7.3 billion In-Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS) for low-income elderly and disabled residents. Without instruction even in CPR or first aid, these caregivers can quickly become overwhelmed and their sick or disabled clients can get hurt, according to interviews with caregivers, advocates and elder abuse experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of training is “of enormous concern,” said Gary Passmore, a vice president of the Congress of California Seniors, an advocacy organization. “We are dealing with a lot of frail, elderly people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The need for in-home caregivers is rising as the elderly and disabled population grows. The demand for personal aides –- most of whom work in the home — is expected to increase by 37 percent over the next decade, requiring about 1.3 million new positions, according to \u003ca title=\"http://phinational.org/sites/phinational.org/files/phi-factsheet14update-12052014.pdf\" href=\"http://phinational.org/sites/phinational.org/files/phi-factsheet14update-12052014.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research published last year\u003c/a> by the New-York based Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, an advocacy group that also provides training\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government is trying to meet that need by stepping up efforts to expand and train the work force. But for now, there are no federal training requirements for in-home-caregivers. It’s up to states to set them in Medicaid-funded programs like California’s. As a result, training policies vary dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Often Providing Medical Care \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s IHSS program, clients are in charge of hiring, managing and training their own caregivers. The program stands out because of its sheer size — it is the nation’s largest publicly-funded home care program –- and because such a high percentage of caregivers are relatives directly employed by the clients rather than agencies, said Abby Marquand, director of policy research for the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a lot easier to ensure a minimum level of training if the person is employed through an agency,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>IHSS was never intended to be a medical program. The caregivers are distinct from visiting nurses and the certified home health aides often dispatched after a hospital stay. IHSS caregivers are not certified or licensed and are hired to do personal care and household tasks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more than a quarter of IHSS clients are 80 or over, and many have chronic health conditions or dementia. In these and other cases, caregivers can end up providing basic medical care -– helping to administer insulin shots, manage other medication or dress wounds, for instance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23348\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-3rev.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23348\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Messengale-3rev-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Massengale can eat by himself, but needs help with everything else. The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charles Massengale can eat by himself, but needs help with everything else. The former tree trimmer has severe brain damage from a 30-foot fall, as well as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When such “paramedical” services are needed by individual clients, IHSS caregivers are required to get instruction and approval from a health care professional. But the state doesn’t sponsor the training or pay caregivers more for getting it. Only 12 percent of clients have caregivers who have received it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eileen Carroll, deputy director of the California Department of Social Services, which oversees IHSS, said the program doesn’t have a lot of training requirements because it was set up to give clients the choice of how they want their care delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For caregivers who want it, the state offers comprehensive \u003ca title=\"http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/PG3366.htm\" href=\"http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/PG3366.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voluntary training information online\u003c/a> on topics such as fall prevention and use of medical equipment, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said many people are fully able to direct their own care and supervise their caregivers, but some aren’t. “Our task is how to work harder to support those who have greater need,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver Massengale, for example, can’t depend on his brother to tell him what he wants or needs — Charles no longer talks much. “Because of the nature of the injuries and his different ailments, he could never train,” Oliver said. “He can’t even take care of himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The situation worsened recently because Charles’ health insurance plan changed, and he no longer is being visited by a nurse. So every day Oliver sits inches from Charles, checking his blood pressure and blood sugar and coaching him step-by-step on how to inject insulin into his own arm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hold the back of that needle up,” he told Charles on a recent day. “Put it in right there. Now pump the medicine in. Good, good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he heard about a training class in Los Angeles, Oliver said he jumped at the chance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I’d had this class in advance, it would have made it a lot easier,” he 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/192785628″&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/192785628″'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Sensitive Matter\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether to require training for those who care for California’s 490,000 low-income elderly and disabled home care clients is a sensitive political — and personal — issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll said the state is in a tough situation. Training is a positive thing, she said, “but you have a very strong adult disabled community in this program who … oppose any mandatory training.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many disability rights advocates say a training mandate would make it more difficult for IHSS consumers to find caregivers, chip away at clients’ autonomy and drain resources from the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of choice is really paramount,” said Deborah Doctor, legislative advocate at Disability Rights California. “Anything that puts a requirement that erodes that choice is a problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23349\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-2-e1420585465561.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23349\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-2-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Frances Chuc brushes her husband’s hair. Jorge Chuc has been paralyzed for more than 30 years and needs full-time care from his wife. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frances Chuc brushes her husband’s hair. Jorge Chuc has been paralyzed for more than 30 years and needs full-time care from his wife. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Relatives, who make up nearly three-quarters of paid IHSS caregivers, often say they know what is best for their loved ones. And clients are inclined to trust family members and say they can instruct them on what they need\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A mother who has been taking care of a child for 20 or 30 or 40 years doesn’t need mandatory training on how to take care of that person,” Doctor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Training should be made available to those who want it, but should be entirely voluntary, said Nancy Becker Kennedy, who was paralyzed in a diving accident 40 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no one size fits all,” said Becker Kennedy, who founded IHSS Consumers Union, a group that advocates for both consumers and workers. “The population is much too diverse to mandate anything across the board.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many other clients agree. Sheela Gunn-Cushman, who is blind, diabetic and has mild cerebral palsy, lives with roommates in San Lorenzo, Calif., with the help of an IHSS caregiver whom she trained herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t feel like anyone is capable of training a [caregiver] about what I need better than I do,” she said. “I am capable of telling them what I need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A union that represents caregivers, however, sees advantages to a minimum level of training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West proposed a \u003ca title=\"http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/16457\" href=\"http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/16457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide initiative\u003c/a> last year that would have required 75 hours of training, but the union didn’t get enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. SEIU plans to try again for the 2016 ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requiring training would “save lives,” said Loretta Jackson, who serves on the union’s executive board and is an IHSS caregiver in Sacramento. It would also reduce the risk of injuries to caregivers, she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson cares for her sister, who was left partially paralyzed by a stroke 15 years ago. When Jackson first started, she had to call paramedics every few weeks because her sister would fall. Once, Jackson said, her sister took too many pills and started shaking violently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I started panicking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other caregivers tell similar stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ariana Ramos, 28, who is taking a training class, said a paralyzed client got a bed sore after sleeping in his wheelchair. Ramos thought it would heal on its own, but it just got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now I know that we need to keep it covered up,” said Ramos, who lives in South Gate. “Now I know about bacteria and all the things that could get in a bed sore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23350\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-4rev.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23350\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/chuc-4rev-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Frances Chuc takes a break after a morning of taking care of her paraplegic husband. She says taking care of her husband is daunting, but her previous experience as a caregiver has helped (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frances Chuc takes a break after a morning of taking care of her paraplegic husband. She says taking care of her husband is daunting, but her previous experience as a caregiver has helped (Heidi de Marco/KHN).\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Caregivers without any medical background or training may not know when to call 911 or how to recognize a heart attack or stroke, said Frances Chuc, who takes care of her paralyzed husband at their home in South Gate and was trained as a nurse aide before she met him. “That person could die in their hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A little bit of training can go a long way, said Joanne Spetz, director of UC San Francisco’s newly created Health Workforce Research Center. It can help caregivers recognize when their clients are having bad reactions to medications, for instance, or help them safely lift a person to avoid falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Training can also reduce turnover in a field that has low job retention, said Marquand of the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several states are experimenting with different models of training. Washington State, for example,\u003ca title=\"http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/individual-providers\" href=\"http://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/individual-providers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> began requiring 75 hours of training\u003c/a> for home caregivers in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It doesn’t make sense that caregivers in the home require less training nationwide than caregivers in nursing homes, said Charissa Raynor, executive director of the SEIU Healthcare NW Training Partnership, which trains 40,000 providers annually. (Certified aides in nursing homes are required by the federal government to have 75 hours of training.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Washington initiative, Raynor said, will help professionalize the workforce, reduce on-the-job injuries and lead to better care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone has been happy with the new mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of folks who just want to be a caregiver in someone’s home,” said Betty Schwieterman, director of systems advocacy at Disability Rights Washington. “They are not on a career path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Grants From The Government\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over mandatory training is far from resolved. But in the meantime, the federal government is putting money into pilot training efforts in various states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through the Affordable Care Act, it has awarded about \u003ca title=\"http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/phcast.html\" href=\"http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/phcast.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$15 million in grants to California\u003c/a> and five other states to recruit and train qualified caregivers for the elderly and disabled populations\u003cstrong>. \u003c/strong>Classes started in 2011 in cities throughout the state, including San Francisco, Anaheim and Walnut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The class Massengale attended is part of a separate federal grant of nearly $12 million given to the California Long-Term Care Education Center in Los Angeles. The center is training about 6,000 IHSS caregivers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An early evaluation of the program, as yet unpublished, by UC San Francisco researchers shows that clients with trained providers are less likely to go to the emergency room or be admitted to a hospital than those with untrained providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corinne Eldridge, who runs the program, said trained caregivers can play an important role on a client’s health care team. “They can be the eyes and the ears in the home … and communicate back to the health care provider,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a recent session in Compton, about two dozen caregivers gathered in a classroom at the public library, their binders of training materials spread out before them. The topic of the day was preventing bed sores and controlling infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The teacher, nurse Lori Picou, asked the class about the signs and symptoms of infection. The students yelled out answers: Redness. Fever. Fluid or discharge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One offered a story about a bruise that swelled up like a basketball. Another said her paralyzed son was sweating so much that she had to repeatedly change his shirt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picou reminded the group to wash their hands frequently. “It is one of the most important things an individual can ever do to help control infection,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oliver Massengale, who is in the class, said he is feeling a little bit more confident about keeping his brother safe. “The more I learn, the better I am to cope with this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But being a caregiver for someone with so many health conditions is still scary to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As I come down those stairs,” he said, “I am saying a prayer and just hoping that everything is all right when I get to the bottom.”\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>\u003cem>\u003ca title=\"Kaiser Health News\" href=\"www.kaiserhealthnews.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News \u003c/a>is an editorially independent program of the \u003ca title=\"Kaiser Family Foundation\" href=\"www.kff.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23341/plenty-of-responsibility-but-no-required-training-for-in-home-caregivers",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_11",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_459",
"stateofhealth_474"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23344",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23329": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23329",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23329",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1420574931000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "lack-of-oversight-for-in-home-caregivers-can-lead-to-neglect-and-death",
"title": "Lack of Oversight for In-Home Caregivers Can Lead to Neglect and Death",
"publishDate": 1420574931,
"format": "aside",
"headTitle": "Lack of Oversight for In-Home Caregivers Can Lead to Neglect and Death | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23331 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-640x424.png\" alt=\"Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"424\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Anna Gorman, \u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/as-caregiving-shifts-to-the-home-scrutiny-is-lacking/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/as-caregiving-shifts-to-the-home-scrutiny-is-lacking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yolanda Farrell lay mostly paralyzed in a nursing home, unable to feed or dress herself, when her homeless daughter persuaded her to move out.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“Essentially neglected to death” by her own daughter. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Linda Maureen Raye, who relatives say had been living in her car with her dog, used her mother’s Social Security to pay for a one-bedroom Riverside apartment and took over as Farrell’s sole caregiver in 2010.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next two years, according to police and court records, Raye, 60, took her elderly mother to the doctor once. As her mother’s health declined, Raye stopped cooperating with a nurse sent to advise her on preventing bedsores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet in 2012, Raye was hired officially: She began collecting about $900 a month from taxpayers under the state’s in-home care program for poor people, according to law enforcement authorities.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23335\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 218px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Yolanda-Farrell.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23335\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Yolanda-Farrell-300x412.jpg\" alt=\"(Courtesy of the Raye family)\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Courtesy of the Raye family)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the end of that year, Farrell, an 85-year-old former real estate underwriter who loved to travel, had died of septic shock resulting from severe bed sore infections. Originally charged with murder, Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse in September and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She essentially neglected her to death,” said Riverside Police Det. Christian Vaughan, who investigated the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s frail elderly and disabled residents increasingly are receiving care in their own homes, an arrangement that saves the government money and offers many people a greater sense of comfort and autonomy than life in an institution. Yet caregivers are largely untrained and unsupervised, even when paid by the state, leaving thousands of residents at risk of possible abuse, neglect and poor treatment, a Kaiser Health News investigation found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move from nursing-home to in-home care is part of a massive shift across the nation, driven by cost-cutting and patient preference. In California, at least four times more elderly and disabled residents receive in-home care than live in nursing facilities -– a rate that is only expected to rise as baby boomers age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families either provide care for relatives without compensation or pay out of pocket for caregivers they find through word-of-mouth, referral agencies or private companies. But a growing number of elderly and disabled people have incomes low enough to qualify for state-funded care under the In-Home Supportive Services program, or IHSS — the same one that paid Raye to care for her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s $7.3 billion IHSS program is the largest publicly-funded caregiver program in the nation. The caseload has more than doubled since 2001 and now serves about 490,000 low-income clients throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working behind closed doors for an average of about $10 an hour, these caregivers carry immense responsibility but are subject to little scrutiny, according to law enforcement officials, elder abuse investigators, senior care experts and court records. Their lapses sometimes lead to preventable injuries and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/192638766″ 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>Many clients are too feeble or afraid to complain or ask for assistance. “We don’t know how many times Yolanda cried for help,” Det. Vaughan said. “She didn’t have a voice. She was deprived of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser Health News’ investigation into the IHSS program found that:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Training for caregivers is minimal and mostly optional. California doesn’t require training for everyone – even in CPR, first aid or preventing injuries. By design, IHSS is not a medical program and caregivers are supposed to confine themselves to tasks such as feeding, dressing or bathing. But some become ad hoc nursing aides, helping to dress wounds and manage medications. The state requires caregivers receive training and authorization from physicians in these cases, but only about one in nine caregivers receives it, officials say.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Most clients in California, 73 percent, are related to their caregivers, up from 43 percent in 2000. The arrangements assume an inherent trust between client and caretaker –- a trust that can go awry when the relationships are dysfunctional, abusive or financially driven. While many states allow some paid family caregiving, most prohibit spouses from taking the job and some bar relatives entirely. California has no such restrictions.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Screening, though improved in recent years, has potentially dangerous gaps. State law requires criminal background checks and bars people from becoming caregivers if they have been convicted of certain crimes, such as elder and child abuse. But the IHSS program leaves the hiring to clients and gives them wide latitude. Felons convicted of robbery, rape or assault can be paid caregivers if their clients get a waiver from the state. In the past four years, more than 830 people have received such waivers for caregivers convicted of serious offenses. “They can have criminal records, they can have drug addiction,” said Susan Strick, a prosecutor with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. “That’s a problem.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Few incidents of abuse and neglect by IHSS workers are documented because authorities aren’t looking for them. County social services workers are supposed to check on the clients once a year on the state’s behalf but are not primarily focused on the quality of care provided and seldom spot problems. Often assigned to hundreds of clients each, their visits are frequently brief — as short as 30 minutes a year\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong> Their main job is to determine whether clients are receiving the proper number of hours of care and whether their needs have changed.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Counties are also supposed to report to the state “critical incidents” — potential neglect, abuse or self-harm requiring immediate action. But reporting practices vary widely, yielding puzzling results. In fiscal year 2012-2013, for instance, not a single critical incident was reported among the 235,000 clients in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, the three largest in the state. That same year, smaller Sacramento County reported 1,688 incidents –- accounting for most of the problems reported statewide\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no evidence indicating that Sacramento County has a disproportionately higher number of critical incidents than other counties,” a Sacramento county spokeswoman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond statistics such as these, nearly all records of IHSS are confidential. So unless a caregiver is criminally prosecuted, the details of any alleged mistreatment are unavailable to the public. Prosecutors and experts on elder abuse say only a small fraction of problem\u003cstrong>s \u003c/strong>come to light. When they do, it is sometimes too late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”Mjj65enUOAsu91fyUNWiA4LdqPCQF1Vq”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neglect and abuse by paid home caregivers happens “far more regularly than we know,” said Paul Greenwood, a national expert in elder abuse and a prosecutor with the San Diego County District Attorney’s office. “We are still scratching the surface.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eileen Carroll, deputy director of the California Department of Social Services, which runs IHSS, said the program “works very well for people who are capable and able to self-direct.” She acknowledged that more problems can arise when clients are older than 85, for instance, or have dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In general, she said, the state tries to ensure that clients are receiving the services they need safely in their homes without compromising their independence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state recently has made improvements to its quality assurance program and has clarified reporting standards for critical incidents, she said. But mandating training or increasing oversight further could fundamentally change IHSS from a program based on the consumers’ social needs to one based on their medical needs, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a slippery slope,” she said. “I don’t think it is in our interest to force recipients and providers to do anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Clients Are The Bosses\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The In-Home Supportive Services program has its roots in the 1950s, when a small group of polio patients was moved out of Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, a rehabilitation center in Downey. Officials recognized that it would be less expensive for people to be taken care of in their homes, and the March of Dimes began to pay for domestic help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current in-home care program, created by the state legislature in 1973, retained the historical emphasis on supporting clients’ autonomy. The state pays the bills, but the elderly or disabled resident is the boss –- responsible for hiring, firing, supervising and training the caregiver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be eligible, most clients must qualify for Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for the poor, and be over 65, blind or disabled. They also must show a need for help in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many swear by the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I get to continue making choices,” said Margaret Belton, 82, who receives help seven days a week from IHSS caregivers at her Pasadena apartment. “When you go into a nursing home, you lose your ability to make decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Belton, a former nurse with arthritis, diabetes, thyroid problems, hip and knee replacements and a history of falls, said she appreciates being able to train her own providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for others, supervising a caregiver can be a struggle. That is especially true when clients are very old, severely physically or mentally impaired or when the employees are family members with whom clients have difficult relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The IHSS program can be a “perfect scenario for elder or dependent abuse,” said Julie Batz, staff attorney at Legal Assistance for Seniors in Oakland. The clients may trust the providers because they share a history or because they assume that the government has screened and trained them, she said, but “that is not necessarily true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“I Never Thought She Could Do This to Me”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23336\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Toni-Giusto-4-e1420574566723.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23336\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Toni-Giusto-4-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Toni Giusto keeps a box within reach filled with the pens, paper and letters to keep her busy. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toni Giusto keeps a box within reach filled with the pens, paper and letters to keep her busy. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Toni Giusto, 54, said she trusted Yvonne Belanger, her domestic partner of many years, with her life. The Oakland woman hired Belanger as her IHSS caregiver in 2000, after an abscess in her neck left her paralyzed from the waist down. Giusto said she needed help with everything –- eating, bathing, sitting up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Giusto said Belanger locked her in a room. “She wouldn’t give me water or nothing,” she said. Belanger didn’t take her to the doctor, even when she developed bed sores that attracted maggots, Giusto said. Belanger sprayed bug poison on her to get rid of them, according to court papers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to a call from Giusto’s sister, police came to the house in 2010 and found Giusto with 23 open sores and an abdomen swollen from waste backed up in her bowels, according to court papers. Belanger was convicted of elder abuse and sentenced to county jail. She died last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was so trusting,” said Giusto, who now lives in a rehabilitation facility in Alameda. “I never thought she could do this to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some clients, choosing a caregiver is less about trust than about mutual need. The parents of Erica Aguirre, now 29, knew she had a drug problem. But they needed help and she needed money, so they applied to IHSS and hired her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For about two years, Aguirre said, IHSS paid her to care for her 72-year-old mother, Guadalupe, who has asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression, and her father, Jesus, 69, who has heart problems, diabetes and early dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guadalupe Aguirre said she and her daughter soon had arguments that ended in yelling and hitting. “I thought she was going to be different than she was,” the mother said in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, Erica Aguirre was charged with physically and verbally abusing her mother. She was convicted and sentenced to 60 days in county jail and drug treatment, according to court documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview at the family’s home in South Los Angeles, Erica Aguirre said she is a recovering drug addict and also suffers from depression and anxiety. Despite that, Aguirre said she followed doctors’ instructions and tried to help her parents. She said she quit working as an IHSS caregiver before her criminal case began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried my best as a caregiver,” she said. But “I wasn’t the appropriate one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deborah Doctor, a legislative advocate at Disability Rights California, said there is nothing to suggest that the IHSS program fosters abuse or that people are less safe at home than they would be in an institution. The best way to ensure a high quality workforce is to pay caregivers better — not to increase regulation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am sure there are some bad actors but the efforts to quantify that have never come up with anything more than a minuscule perspective,” Doctor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Focus on Fraud\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23337\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Maggie-Belton-2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23337\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Maggie-Belton-2-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Maggie Belton suffers from arthritis and diabetes. The 82-year-old gets in-home care from Armida Pineda, 64, at her Pasadena apartment. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Belton suffers from arthritis and diabetes. The 82-year-old gets in-home care from Armida Pineda, 64, at her Pasadena apartment. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Martin Hernandez, an IHSS social worker in Los Angeles County, has a tough job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has about 440 active cases, including people with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, mental illness and a history of strokes. He is generally expected to visit each client once a year, though occasionally he sees someone who hasn’t been visited in two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even once a year is “not enough to tell who is being harmed and who is not being harmed,” he said. “It’s very hard unless a neighbor calls or you see some kind of physical evidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His colleague, Gloria Daniels, said she has an even higher caseload – 493 clients. “The program is so big that it appears nobody knows what to do,” she said. “We are being told it’s quantity, not quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the nation, social workers have an average of 265 clients each. Under their union contract, their caseloads aren’t supposed to exceed 249. Above that, workers can’t be held to the usual disciplinary standards. But other counties have even higher ratios – in Riverside County, case workers average about 500 clients each.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are no statewide standards for how many cases a social worker can carry. Carroll said in some smaller counties workers have caseloads as low as 7. In the areas with high caseloads, she said, the state has been urging counties to hire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to see cases become better balanced,” she said. “We do want to see [clients] assessed every year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During their visits county workers focus much more on possible fraud than on quality of care, statistics suggest. From 2008 through 2012, workers in the five most populous California counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino — reported 960 cases of fraudulent overpayment to caregivers. During that same period, the workers reported a total of 32 “critical events” –- potential neglect, abuse or self-harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has another limited quality assurance program that aims to ensure clients are safe and that county workers are following proper procedures. Inspectors conduct “desk reviews” of case files and other documents, along with a very small number of home visits. In 2013, just 3.8 percent of IHSS cases were reviewed under the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since last summer, more desk reviews and unannounced visits are taking place, Carroll said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case workers – and caregivers– are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect. But IHSS officials and family members mostly depend on another state agency, Adult Protective Services, to investigate those concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This agency is also spread thin and has limited powers, according to state records and interviews. Even if workers suspect abuse or neglect, they generally can’t remove an adult from the home without his or her permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot force anybody to accept our services,” said Stacey Lindberg, program manager of Adult Protective Services in Orange County. “It is heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suffering In Seclusion \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result, in some cases, is prolonged abuse and neglect by IHSS caregivers. Examples can be found in court records throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Fresno, a 26-year-old woman, disabled by a severe spine condition, hired her brother and his wife as IHSS caregivers. Police and prosecutors say the couple, Joe and Denise Roman, didn’t turn her in bed, and her tissue broke down so much that metal rods in her spine became exposed. She died and the caregivers were convicted in 2011 of abusing her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Lake Isabella, Kern County, Joseph McCoy was a paid caregiver over many years for his 90-year-old grandmother, who raised him. McCoy left her unattended, and officials discovered her stuck to her sheets with gruesome bedsores in a fly-infested room, according to prosecutors. She died shortly afterward. McCoy was convicted in 2012 of elder abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a really, really horrible case,” said Michelle Domino, Kern County deputy district attorney. “She had clearly been left neglected for some time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Yolanda Farrell’s case, relatives say they are stunned that Linda Maureen Raye even was able to become a paid caregiver for her mother. Farrell was unable to walk and had very limited use of her arms as a result of a bout with polio years earlier. Maureen Raye had longstanding emotional problems, her brother Terrence said. She’d tried to take care of her mother in the past but always found herself overwhelmed. “My mom would always try to believe that she was better,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maureen “went behind our backs and convinced my mom that she would be better off being taken care of in a private residence with her,” Terrence Raye said. Later, he said, Maureen Raye told him that she needed the IHSS funds as well as Farrell’s Social Security money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terrence Raye said she wouldn’t allow him to visit his mom, or even talk to her, so he called police and adult protection authorities. They interviewed his mother in Maureen Raye’s presence, he said, and told him they found nothing wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last time he saw Farrell was at Riverside Community Hospital, where she had arrived sickened from ulcers that went to the bone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My mom was old enough and in bad [enough] health never to recover,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data analyst Ronald Campbell contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "California’s publicly funded in-home care program leaves elderly and disabled clients vulnerable to abuse and poor treatment, Kaiser Health News investigation finds. ",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721150391,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 74,
"wordCount": 3221
},
"headData": {
"title": "Lack of Oversight for In-Home Caregivers Can Lead to Neglect and Death",
"description": "California’s publicly funded in-home care program leaves elderly and disabled clients vulnerable to abuse and poor treatment, Kaiser Health News investigation finds. ",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Lack of Oversight for In-Home Caregivers Can Lead to Neglect and Death",
"datePublished": "2015-01-06T12:08:51-08:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-16T10:19:51-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"sticky": false,
"path": "/stateofhealth/23329/lack-of-oversight-for-in-home-caregivers-can-lead-to-neglect-and-death",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23331\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-23331 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-06-at-11.36.41-AM-640x424.png\" alt=\"Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"424\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Linda Maureen Raye at her sentencing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse that led to the death of her mother. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Anna Gorman, \u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/as-caregiving-shifts-to-the-home-scrutiny-is-lacking/\" href=\"http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/as-caregiving-shifts-to-the-home-scrutiny-is-lacking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yolanda Farrell lay mostly paralyzed in a nursing home, unable to feed or dress herself, when her homeless daughter persuaded her to move out.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“Essentially neglected to death” by her own daughter. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Linda Maureen Raye, who relatives say had been living in her car with her dog, used her mother’s Social Security to pay for a one-bedroom Riverside apartment and took over as Farrell’s sole caregiver in 2010.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next two years, according to police and court records, Raye, 60, took her elderly mother to the doctor once. As her mother’s health declined, Raye stopped cooperating with a nurse sent to advise her on preventing bedsores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet in 2012, Raye was hired officially: She began collecting about $900 a month from taxpayers under the state’s in-home care program for poor people, according to law enforcement authorities.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23335\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 218px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Yolanda-Farrell.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23335\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Yolanda-Farrell-300x412.jpg\" alt=\"(Courtesy of the Raye family)\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Courtesy of the Raye family)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the end of that year, Farrell, an 85-year-old former real estate underwriter who loved to travel, had died of septic shock resulting from severe bed sore infections. Originally charged with murder, Raye pleaded guilty to elder abuse in September and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.\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>“She essentially neglected her to death,” said Riverside Police Det. Christian Vaughan, who investigated the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s frail elderly and disabled residents increasingly are receiving care in their own homes, an arrangement that saves the government money and offers many people a greater sense of comfort and autonomy than life in an institution. Yet caregivers are largely untrained and unsupervised, even when paid by the state, leaving thousands of residents at risk of possible abuse, neglect and poor treatment, a Kaiser Health News investigation found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move from nursing-home to in-home care is part of a massive shift across the nation, driven by cost-cutting and patient preference. In California, at least four times more elderly and disabled residents receive in-home care than live in nursing facilities -– a rate that is only expected to rise as baby boomers age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families either provide care for relatives without compensation or pay out of pocket for caregivers they find through word-of-mouth, referral agencies or private companies. But a growing number of elderly and disabled people have incomes low enough to qualify for state-funded care under the In-Home Supportive Services program, or IHSS — the same one that paid Raye to care for her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s $7.3 billion IHSS program is the largest publicly-funded caregiver program in the nation. The caseload has more than doubled since 2001 and now serves about 490,000 low-income clients throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working behind closed doors for an average of about $10 an hour, these caregivers carry immense responsibility but are subject to little scrutiny, according to law enforcement officials, elder abuse investigators, senior care experts and court records. Their lapses sometimes lead to preventable injuries and death.\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/192638766″&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/192638766″'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many clients are too feeble or afraid to complain or ask for assistance. “We don’t know how many times Yolanda cried for help,” Det. Vaughan said. “She didn’t have a voice. She was deprived of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser Health News’ investigation into the IHSS program found that:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Training for caregivers is minimal and mostly optional. California doesn’t require training for everyone – even in CPR, first aid or preventing injuries. By design, IHSS is not a medical program and caregivers are supposed to confine themselves to tasks such as feeding, dressing or bathing. But some become ad hoc nursing aides, helping to dress wounds and manage medications. The state requires caregivers receive training and authorization from physicians in these cases, but only about one in nine caregivers receives it, officials say.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Most clients in California, 73 percent, are related to their caregivers, up from 43 percent in 2000. The arrangements assume an inherent trust between client and caretaker –- a trust that can go awry when the relationships are dysfunctional, abusive or financially driven. While many states allow some paid family caregiving, most prohibit spouses from taking the job and some bar relatives entirely. California has no such restrictions.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Screening, though improved in recent years, has potentially dangerous gaps. State law requires criminal background checks and bars people from becoming caregivers if they have been convicted of certain crimes, such as elder and child abuse. But the IHSS program leaves the hiring to clients and gives them wide latitude. Felons convicted of robbery, rape or assault can be paid caregivers if their clients get a waiver from the state. In the past four years, more than 830 people have received such waivers for caregivers convicted of serious offenses. “They can have criminal records, they can have drug addiction,” said Susan Strick, a prosecutor with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. “That’s a problem.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Few incidents of abuse and neglect by IHSS workers are documented because authorities aren’t looking for them. County social services workers are supposed to check on the clients once a year on the state’s behalf but are not primarily focused on the quality of care provided and seldom spot problems. Often assigned to hundreds of clients each, their visits are frequently brief — as short as 30 minutes a year\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong> Their main job is to determine whether clients are receiving the proper number of hours of care and whether their needs have changed.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Counties are also supposed to report to the state “critical incidents” — potential neglect, abuse or self-harm requiring immediate action. But reporting practices vary widely, yielding puzzling results. In fiscal year 2012-2013, for instance, not a single critical incident was reported among the 235,000 clients in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, the three largest in the state. That same year, smaller Sacramento County reported 1,688 incidents –- accounting for most of the problems reported statewide\u003cstrong>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no evidence indicating that Sacramento County has a disproportionately higher number of critical incidents than other counties,” a Sacramento county spokeswoman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond statistics such as these, nearly all records of IHSS are confidential. So unless a caregiver is criminally prosecuted, the details of any alleged mistreatment are unavailable to the public. Prosecutors and experts on elder abuse say only a small fraction of problem\u003cstrong>s \u003c/strong>come to light. When they do, it is sometimes too late.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neglect and abuse by paid home caregivers happens “far more regularly than we know,” said Paul Greenwood, a national expert in elder abuse and a prosecutor with the San Diego County District Attorney’s office. “We are still scratching the surface.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eileen Carroll, deputy director of the California Department of Social Services, which runs IHSS, said the program “works very well for people who are capable and able to self-direct.” She acknowledged that more problems can arise when clients are older than 85, for instance, or have dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In general, she said, the state tries to ensure that clients are receiving the services they need safely in their homes without compromising their independence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state recently has made improvements to its quality assurance program and has clarified reporting standards for critical incidents, she said. But mandating training or increasing oversight further could fundamentally change IHSS from a program based on the consumers’ social needs to one based on their medical needs, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a slippery slope,” she said. “I don’t think it is in our interest to force recipients and providers to do anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Clients Are The Bosses\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The In-Home Supportive Services program has its roots in the 1950s, when a small group of polio patients was moved out of Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, a rehabilitation center in Downey. Officials recognized that it would be less expensive for people to be taken care of in their homes, and the March of Dimes began to pay for domestic help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current in-home care program, created by the state legislature in 1973, retained the historical emphasis on supporting clients’ autonomy. The state pays the bills, but the elderly or disabled resident is the boss –- responsible for hiring, firing, supervising and training the caregiver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be eligible, most clients must qualify for Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for the poor, and be over 65, blind or disabled. They also must show a need for help in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many swear by the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I get to continue making choices,” said Margaret Belton, 82, who receives help seven days a week from IHSS caregivers at her Pasadena apartment. “When you go into a nursing home, you lose your ability to make decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Belton, a former nurse with arthritis, diabetes, thyroid problems, hip and knee replacements and a history of falls, said she appreciates being able to train her own providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for others, supervising a caregiver can be a struggle. That is especially true when clients are very old, severely physically or mentally impaired or when the employees are family members with whom clients have difficult relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The IHSS program can be a “perfect scenario for elder or dependent abuse,” said Julie Batz, staff attorney at Legal Assistance for Seniors in Oakland. The clients may trust the providers because they share a history or because they assume that the government has screened and trained them, she said, but “that is not necessarily true.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“I Never Thought She Could Do This to Me”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23336\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Toni-Giusto-4-e1420574566723.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-23336\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Toni-Giusto-4-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Toni Giusto keeps a box within reach filled with the pens, paper and letters to keep her busy. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toni Giusto keeps a box within reach filled with the pens, paper and letters to keep her busy. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Toni Giusto, 54, said she trusted Yvonne Belanger, her domestic partner of many years, with her life. The Oakland woman hired Belanger as her IHSS caregiver in 2000, after an abscess in her neck left her paralyzed from the waist down. Giusto said she needed help with everything –- eating, bathing, sitting up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Giusto said Belanger locked her in a room. “She wouldn’t give me water or nothing,” she said. Belanger didn’t take her to the doctor, even when she developed bed sores that attracted maggots, Giusto said. Belanger sprayed bug poison on her to get rid of them, according to court papers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to a call from Giusto’s sister, police came to the house in 2010 and found Giusto with 23 open sores and an abdomen swollen from waste backed up in her bowels, according to court papers. Belanger was convicted of elder abuse and sentenced to county jail. She died last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was so trusting,” said Giusto, who now lives in a rehabilitation facility in Alameda. “I never thought she could do this to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some clients, choosing a caregiver is less about trust than about mutual need. The parents of Erica Aguirre, now 29, knew she had a drug problem. But they needed help and she needed money, so they applied to IHSS and hired her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For about two years, Aguirre said, IHSS paid her to care for her 72-year-old mother, Guadalupe, who has asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression, and her father, Jesus, 69, who has heart problems, diabetes and early dementia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guadalupe Aguirre said she and her daughter soon had arguments that ended in yelling and hitting. “I thought she was going to be different than she was,” the mother said in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, Erica Aguirre was charged with physically and verbally abusing her mother. She was convicted and sentenced to 60 days in county jail and drug treatment, according to court documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview at the family’s home in South Los Angeles, Erica Aguirre said she is a recovering drug addict and also suffers from depression and anxiety. Despite that, Aguirre said she followed doctors’ instructions and tried to help her parents. She said she quit working as an IHSS caregiver before her criminal case began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried my best as a caregiver,” she said. But “I wasn’t the appropriate one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deborah Doctor, a legislative advocate at Disability Rights California, said there is nothing to suggest that the IHSS program fosters abuse or that people are less safe at home than they would be in an institution. The best way to ensure a high quality workforce is to pay caregivers better — not to increase regulation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am sure there are some bad actors but the efforts to quantify that have never come up with anything more than a minuscule perspective,” Doctor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Focus on Fraud\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23337\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Maggie-Belton-2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23337\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/Maggie-Belton-2-300x449.jpg\" alt=\"Maggie Belton suffers from arthritis and diabetes. The 82-year-old gets in-home care from Armida Pineda, 64, at her Pasadena apartment. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Belton suffers from arthritis and diabetes. The 82-year-old gets in-home care from Armida Pineda, 64, at her Pasadena apartment. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Martin Hernandez, an IHSS social worker in Los Angeles County, has a tough job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has about 440 active cases, including people with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, mental illness and a history of strokes. He is generally expected to visit each client once a year, though occasionally he sees someone who hasn’t been visited in two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even once a year is “not enough to tell who is being harmed and who is not being harmed,” he said. “It’s very hard unless a neighbor calls or you see some kind of physical evidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His colleague, Gloria Daniels, said she has an even higher caseload – 493 clients. “The program is so big that it appears nobody knows what to do,” she said. “We are being told it’s quantity, not quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the nation, social workers have an average of 265 clients each. Under their union contract, their caseloads aren’t supposed to exceed 249. Above that, workers can’t be held to the usual disciplinary standards. But other counties have even higher ratios – in Riverside County, case workers average about 500 clients each.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are no statewide standards for how many cases a social worker can carry. Carroll said in some smaller counties workers have caseloads as low as 7. In the areas with high caseloads, she said, the state has been urging counties to hire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to see cases become better balanced,” she said. “We do want to see [clients] assessed every year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During their visits county workers focus much more on possible fraud than on quality of care, statistics suggest. From 2008 through 2012, workers in the five most populous California counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino — reported 960 cases of fraudulent overpayment to caregivers. During that same period, the workers reported a total of 32 “critical events” –- potential neglect, abuse or self-harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has another limited quality assurance program that aims to ensure clients are safe and that county workers are following proper procedures. Inspectors conduct “desk reviews” of case files and other documents, along with a very small number of home visits. In 2013, just 3.8 percent of IHSS cases were reviewed under the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since last summer, more desk reviews and unannounced visits are taking place, Carroll said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case workers – and caregivers– are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect. But IHSS officials and family members mostly depend on another state agency, Adult Protective Services, to investigate those concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This agency is also spread thin and has limited powers, according to state records and interviews. Even if workers suspect abuse or neglect, they generally can’t remove an adult from the home without his or her permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot force anybody to accept our services,” said Stacey Lindberg, program manager of Adult Protective Services in Orange County. “It is heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suffering In Seclusion \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result, in some cases, is prolonged abuse and neglect by IHSS caregivers. Examples can be found in court records throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Fresno, a 26-year-old woman, disabled by a severe spine condition, hired her brother and his wife as IHSS caregivers. Police and prosecutors say the couple, Joe and Denise Roman, didn’t turn her in bed, and her tissue broke down so much that metal rods in her spine became exposed. She died and the caregivers were convicted in 2011 of abusing her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Lake Isabella, Kern County, Joseph McCoy was a paid caregiver over many years for his 90-year-old grandmother, who raised him. McCoy left her unattended, and officials discovered her stuck to her sheets with gruesome bedsores in a fly-infested room, according to prosecutors. She died shortly afterward. McCoy was convicted in 2012 of elder abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a really, really horrible case,” said Michelle Domino, Kern County deputy district attorney. “She had clearly been left neglected for some time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Yolanda Farrell’s case, relatives say they are stunned that Linda Maureen Raye even was able to become a paid caregiver for her mother. Farrell was unable to walk and had very limited use of her arms as a result of a bout with polio years earlier. Maureen Raye had longstanding emotional problems, her brother Terrence said. She’d tried to take care of her mother in the past but always found herself overwhelmed. “My mom would always try to believe that she was better,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maureen “went behind our backs and convinced my mom that she would be better off being taken care of in a private residence with her,” Terrence Raye said. Later, he said, Maureen Raye told him that she needed the IHSS funds as well as Farrell’s Social Security money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terrence Raye said she wouldn’t allow him to visit his mom, or even talk to her, so he called police and adult protection authorities. They interviewed his mother in Maureen Raye’s presence, he said, and told him they found nothing wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last time he saw Farrell was at Riverside Community Hospital, where she had arrived sickened from ulcers that went to the bone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My mom was old enough and in bad [enough] health never to recover,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.\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>\u003cem>Data analyst Ronald Campbell contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23329/lack-of-oversight-for-in-home-caregivers-can-lead-to-neglect-and-death",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_11",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_459",
"stateofhealth_474"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23331",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23323": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23323",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23323",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1420497452000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1420497452,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Brown on Health Coverage: \"Right Thing to Do. But It Isn't Free.\"",
"title": "Brown on Health Coverage: \"Right Thing to Do. But It Isn't Free.\"",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23324\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-640x316.jpg\" alt=\"Gov. Jerry Brown is sworn in as California governor for the fourth time. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)\" width=\"640\" height=\"316\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jerry Brown is sworn in as California governor for the fourth time. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio) \u003ccite>( Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jerry Brown was sworn into his fourth term as governor of California Monday morning. \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/05-jerry-brown-inaugural-tackles-legacy-head-on/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/05-jerry-brown-inaugural-tackles-legacy-head-on/\" target=\"_blank\">In a wide-ranging inaugural address\u003c/a> (that doubled as a State of the State address), he included some brief remarks about the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's the text of what he said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Along with education, health and human services constitute a major part of what state government does. And in the past few years we have made massive commitments in this area, which will require increasing levels of spending, the full extent of which is not yet known. For example, two years ago California embraced the Affordable Care Act, dramatically increasing its health insurance coverage under the Medi-Cal program. The state will enroll 12.2 million people during this new budget year, a more than 50 percent increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providing the security of health coverage to so many Californians who need it is the right thing to do. But it isn't free. Although the federal government will temporarily foot much of the bill, new state costs - now and more so in the future - will run into the billions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Before we take a deeper look at his statements about Medi-Cal, let's go back a year ago to last year's budget. Then, Brown's budget proposal included an \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/09/governors-budget-includes-670-million-for-medi-cal-preserves-provider-rate-cuts/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/09/governors-budget-includes-670-million-for-medi-cal-preserves-provider-rate-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\">additional $670 million for Medi-Cal,\u003c/a> at least in part because of the expected additional costs due the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps more importantly, “The Medi-Cal caseload is expected to be approximately 24 percent of the state’s total population,” the governor said when he released last year's budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speed forward a year. Obamacare sign-ups surged in California during 2014 and outstripped all estimates. Specifically in Medi-Cal, it's not 24 percent of the population that is covered by the program, it's closer to 33 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the ACA pays for 100 percent of the people who are newly eligible for Medi-Cal, many people who signed up in 2014 were already eligible before the ACA expansion. They just had not enrolled. With all the hoopla around the ACA, plenty of those previously-eligible people signed up. Many refer to this as the \u003ca title=\"http://kff.org/report-section/where-are-californias-uninsured-now-section-1-who-got-covered/\" href=\"http://kff.org/report-section/where-are-californias-uninsured-now-section-1-who-got-covered/\" target=\"_blank\">\"woodwork\" effect\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Estimates are of the 2.4 million people who signed up for Medi-Cal by Mar. 31, about 800,000 of them were previously eligible. The federal government funds those people at the non-expansion rate of 50 precent. That's why in the \u003ca title=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18521\" href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18521\" target=\"_blank\">May revision\u003c/a> of his budget, Gov. Brown included an additional $1.2 billion to fund the caseload.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown closed his brief remarks about health with a remark about the state's costs \"in the future.\" The federal government is funding 100 percent of the Medi-Cal expansion only through 2016. Come 2017, the match will start to drift down and ultimately end at 90 percent. Yes, this is still a generous federal outlay. But 10 percent of billions of dollars is a lot of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The governor is expected to release his budget proposal on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23323 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23323",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/01/05/brown-on-health-coverage-right-thing-to-do-but-it-isnt-free/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 543,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 12
},
"modified": 1420655963,
"excerpt": "Gov. Brown spoke briefly about the Affordable Care Act and Medi-Cal in his inaugural address.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Gov. Brown spoke briefly about the Affordable Care Act and Medi-Cal in his inaugural address.",
"title": "Brown on Health Coverage: \"Right Thing to Do. But It Isn't Free.\" | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Brown on Health Coverage: \"Right Thing to Do. But It Isn't Free.\"",
"datePublished": "2015-01-05T14:37:32-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-07T10:39:23-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "brown-on-health-coverage-right-thing-to-do-but-it-isnt-free",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23323/brown-on-health-coverage-right-thing-to-do-but-it-isnt-free",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23324\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/01/RS13895_IMG_3044-EditREV-640x316.jpg\" alt=\"Gov. Jerry Brown is sworn in as California governor for the fourth time. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)\" width=\"640\" height=\"316\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jerry Brown is sworn in as California governor for the fourth time. (Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio) \u003ccite>( Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jerry Brown was sworn into his fourth term as governor of California Monday morning. \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/05-jerry-brown-inaugural-tackles-legacy-head-on/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/05-jerry-brown-inaugural-tackles-legacy-head-on/\" target=\"_blank\">In a wide-ranging inaugural address\u003c/a> (that doubled as a State of the State address), he included some brief remarks about the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's the text of what he said:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Along with education, health and human services constitute a major part of what state government does. And in the past few years we have made massive commitments in this area, which will require increasing levels of spending, the full extent of which is not yet known. For example, two years ago California embraced the Affordable Care Act, dramatically increasing its health insurance coverage under the Medi-Cal program. The state will enroll 12.2 million people during this new budget year, a more than 50 percent increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providing the security of health coverage to so many Californians who need it is the right thing to do. But it isn't free. Although the federal government will temporarily foot much of the bill, new state costs - now and more so in the future - will run into the billions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Before we take a deeper look at his statements about Medi-Cal, let's go back a year ago to last year's budget. Then, Brown's budget proposal included an \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/09/governors-budget-includes-670-million-for-medi-cal-preserves-provider-rate-cuts/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/09/governors-budget-includes-670-million-for-medi-cal-preserves-provider-rate-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\">additional $670 million for Medi-Cal,\u003c/a> at least in part because of the expected additional costs due the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps more importantly, “The Medi-Cal caseload is expected to be approximately 24 percent of the state’s total population,” the governor said when he released last year's budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speed forward a year. Obamacare sign-ups surged in California during 2014 and outstripped all estimates. Specifically in Medi-Cal, it's not 24 percent of the population that is covered by the program, it's closer to 33 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the ACA pays for 100 percent of the people who are newly eligible for Medi-Cal, many people who signed up in 2014 were already eligible before the ACA expansion. They just had not enrolled. With all the hoopla around the ACA, plenty of those previously-eligible people signed up. Many refer to this as the \u003ca title=\"http://kff.org/report-section/where-are-californias-uninsured-now-section-1-who-got-covered/\" href=\"http://kff.org/report-section/where-are-californias-uninsured-now-section-1-who-got-covered/\" target=\"_blank\">\"woodwork\" effect\u003c/a>.\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>Estimates are of the 2.4 million people who signed up for Medi-Cal by Mar. 31, about 800,000 of them were previously eligible. The federal government funds those people at the non-expansion rate of 50 precent. That's why in the \u003ca title=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18521\" href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18521\" target=\"_blank\">May revision\u003c/a> of his budget, Gov. Brown included an additional $1.2 billion to fund the caseload.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown closed his brief remarks about health with a remark about the state's costs \"in the future.\" The federal government is funding 100 percent of the Medi-Cal expansion only through 2016. Come 2017, the match will start to drift down and ultimately end at 90 percent. Yes, this is still a generous federal outlay. But 10 percent of billions of dollars is a lot of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The governor is expected to release his budget proposal on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23323/brown-on-health-coverage-right-thing-to-do-but-it-isnt-free",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_99"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23324",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23291": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23291",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23291",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1420054579000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1420054579,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Top 5 Stories on State of Health in 2014",
"title": "Top 5 Stories on State of Health in 2014",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23293\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-640x425.jpg\" alt=\"President Obama took a victory lap on Apr. 1 as the first open enrollment of the Affordable Care Act came to a close and millions had signed up. A story about the ACA was in State of Health's top five posts this year. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Obama took a victory lap on Apr. 1 as the first open enrollment of the Affordable Care Act came to a close and millions had signed up. A story about the ACA was in State of Health's top five posts this year. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been a big year in health: the launch of the Affordable Care Act, an ongoing Ebola epidemic and the first soda tax in the country, passed by Berkeley voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here on State of Health, all those stories got plenty of attention from you, the readers. But the Top 5 might surprise you. We crunched the numbers and here are the posts that netted the most views this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/03/what-philip-seymour-hoffmans-death-sadly-teaches-us-about-addiction/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/03/what-philip-seymour-hoffmans-death-sadly-teaches-us-about-addiction/\" target=\"_blank\">What Philip Seymour Hoffman's Tragic Death Teaches Us About Addiction\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-17429\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"Philip Seymour Hoffman arrives for the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Los Angeles, California, last November. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf-400x269.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf-320x216.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Philip Seymour Hoffman arrives for the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Los Angeles, California, last November. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We all know the sad details. In February, Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose. He had been an addict as a young man, but given up drugs and alcohol at 22. His relapse cost him his life. But what troubled me most after his death were the heartless social media attacks about his \"selfishness\" and \"poor choices.\"\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone weighed in after Hoffman's death, so I wrote a short post about the disease of addiction. “Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas. Addiction is a disease of the brain,” Dr. David Smith, founder of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you don’t think addiction is a disease, he added, “then take a laxative, sit on the toilet and try not to have a bowel movement.” Yes, a simplistic analogy, he said, “but effective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short post went viral and became the most read State of Health post this year. It also generated scores of comments, many from family members of addicts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/08/26/earthquake-safety-stand-in-a-doorway/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/08/26/earthquake-safety-stand-in-a-doorway/\" target=\"_blank\">Earthquake Safety: Stand In A Doorway?\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_21034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/08/454076420-e1420055410857.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-21034\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/08/454076420-640x476.jpg\" alt=\"Police officers in Napa prop up a fallen door in front of a damaged building following Sunday's earthquake there. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police officers in Napa prop up a fallen door in front of a damaged building following Sunday's earthquake there. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early Sunday morning on Aug. 24, a magnitude 6.0\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-admin/post-new.php\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-admin/post-new.php\" target=\"_blank\"> earthquake rolled through the Bay Area\u003c/a>. The epicenter was south of Napa, and damage in that city was extensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple days after the quake, I became troubled when several of my colleagues mentioned \"standing in a doorway\" was a safe thing to do in an earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I knew this was wrong. Really wrong. In all likelihood, the idea of the doorway being safe in a quake goes back to the 19th century, when homes were built of adobe. Adobe crumbles in an earthquake and the only thing left standing would be the wood-framing of the doorway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not many people live in adobe homes these days. Instead, experts say to drop, cover and hold on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/vaccine-opt-out-rate-doubled-in-7-years-look-up-your-school-online/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/vaccine-opt-out-rate-doubled-in-7-years-look-up-your-school-online/\" target=\"_blank\">Vaccine Opt-Out Rate Doubled in 7 Years; Look Up Your School Online\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_5990\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/05/Vaccination-Large-Jeff-J-Mitchell-Getty-e1411754682989.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-5990\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/05/Vaccination-Large-Jeff-J-Mitchell-Getty-620x398.jpg\" alt=\"(Jeff J. Mitchell: Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"398\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Jeff J. Mitchell: Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The rate of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children doubled over seven years. Olivia Allen-Price used \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/our-vaccine-database-methodology/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/our-vaccine-database-methodology/\" target=\"_blank\">seven years of state data \u003c/a>of vaccine rates at 8,220 public, private and parochial schools statewide to create an easy look-up tool where parents could see what the opt-out rate is at their own school. We followed up with\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/26/vaccine-opt-out-rate-at-sons-school-is-32-percent-should-i-freak-out/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/26/vaccine-opt-out-rate-at-sons-school-is-32-percent-should-i-freak-out/\" target=\"_blank\"> a story about a parent \u003c/a>who wondered, \"Should I freak out?\" when he discovered the opt-out rate at his son's school was 32 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/10/09/for-legal-immigrants-obamacare-has-options-for-aging-parents/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/10/09/for-legal-immigrants-obamacare-has-options-for-aging-parents/\" target=\"_blank\">For Legal Immigrants, Obamacare Has Options for Aging Parents\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15577\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-15577\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg\" alt=\"A view of the the Statue of Liberty. (Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378-400x295.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378-320x236.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the the Statue of Liberty. (Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of all the stories about the Affordable Care Act we have written (and there have been \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/category/reform/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/category/reform/\" target=\"_blank\">a lot of them\u003c/a>), this one -- about options for aging parents of legal immigrants -- got the most traffic. Why? Because before Obamacare, newly-arrived aging immigrants had few health insurance options. They were not eligible for Medicare, and because of the existence of Medicare, there was virtually no insurance market for people over 65. Under the ACA, lawfully present immigrants are eligible to apply for insurance on the Obamacare exchanges, including Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED's \u003ca title=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" target=\"_blank\">Obamacare Guide\u003c/a>, while not technically a post on State of Health was produced by the State of Health team, and it continues to get the most views of any of our Obamacare coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5)\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/06/23/share-your-bill-make-health-costs-transparent-in-california/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/06/23/share-your-bill-make-health-costs-transparent-in-california/\" target=\"_blank\"> PriceCheck Project: Creating A Database of Real Health Care Costs\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_19667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-19667\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"(Illustration: Andy Warner)\" width=\"640\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf-400x129.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf-320x103.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Illustration: Andy Warner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Health care costs are notoriously opaque and wildly variable. So, we teamed up with LA's KPCC, and ClearHealthCosts.com, a New York City start-up, to launch PriceCheck, a crowdsourced database of health care costs. We launched in June and held our breath. Would you, our audience, share your prices? Yes, hundreds of you did. Thousands more searched our database looking for real prices. We'll be back in 2015 with more \u003ca title=\"http://pricecheck-healthcosts.tumblr.com\" href=\"http://pricecheck-healthcosts.tumblr.com\" target=\"_blank\">PriceCheck stories\u003c/a>. But for now, thank you for making this project such a success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We appreciate your being part of the State of Health community, and we look forward to sharing more health stories with you in 2015!\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23291 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23291",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/31/top-5-stories-on-state-of-health-in-2014/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 873,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 22
},
"modified": 1420139994,
"excerpt": "Yes, the launch of the Affordable Care Act was the biggest health story overall, but which individual posts did you read the most?",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Yes, the launch of the Affordable Care Act was the biggest health story overall, but which individual posts did you read the most?",
"title": "Top 5 Stories on State of Health in 2014 | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Top 5 Stories on State of Health in 2014",
"datePublished": "2014-12-31T11:36:19-08:00",
"dateModified": "2015-01-01T11:19:54-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "top-5-stories-on-state-of-health-in-2014",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23291/top-5-stories-on-state-of-health-in-2014",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-e1420054138323.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-23293\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/481872851-640x425.jpg\" alt=\"President Obama took a victory lap on Apr. 1 as the first open enrollment of the Affordable Care Act came to a close and millions had signed up. A story about the ACA was in State of Health's top five posts this year. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Obama took a victory lap on Apr. 1 as the first open enrollment of the Affordable Care Act came to a close and millions had signed up. A story about the ACA was in State of Health's top five posts this year. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been a big year in health: the launch of the Affordable Care Act, an ongoing Ebola epidemic and the first soda tax in the country, passed by Berkeley voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here on State of Health, all those stories got plenty of attention from you, the readers. But the Top 5 might surprise you. We crunched the numbers and here are the posts that netted the most views this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/03/what-philip-seymour-hoffmans-death-sadly-teaches-us-about-addiction/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/03/what-philip-seymour-hoffmans-death-sadly-teaches-us-about-addiction/\" target=\"_blank\">What Philip Seymour Hoffman's Tragic Death Teaches Us About Addiction\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-17429\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"Philip Seymour Hoffman arrives for the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Los Angeles, California, last November. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf-400x269.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/RS8528_450461661-hpf-320x216.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Philip Seymour Hoffman arrives for the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' in Los Angeles, California, last November. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We all know the sad details. In February, Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose. He had been an addict as a young man, but given up drugs and alcohol at 22. His relapse cost him his life. But what troubled me most after his death were the heartless social media attacks about his \"selfishness\" and \"poor choices.\"\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone weighed in after Hoffman's death, so I wrote a short post about the disease of addiction. “Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas. Addiction is a disease of the brain,” Dr. David Smith, founder of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic told me.\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>If you don’t think addiction is a disease, he added, “then take a laxative, sit on the toilet and try not to have a bowel movement.” Yes, a simplistic analogy, he said, “but effective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short post went viral and became the most read State of Health post this year. It also generated scores of comments, many from family members of addicts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/08/26/earthquake-safety-stand-in-a-doorway/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/08/26/earthquake-safety-stand-in-a-doorway/\" target=\"_blank\">Earthquake Safety: Stand In A Doorway?\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_21034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/08/454076420-e1420055410857.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-21034\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/08/454076420-640x476.jpg\" alt=\"Police officers in Napa prop up a fallen door in front of a damaged building following Sunday's earthquake there. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Police officers in Napa prop up a fallen door in front of a damaged building following Sunday's earthquake there. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early Sunday morning on Aug. 24, a magnitude 6.0\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-admin/post-new.php\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-admin/post-new.php\" target=\"_blank\"> earthquake rolled through the Bay Area\u003c/a>. The epicenter was south of Napa, and damage in that city was extensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple days after the quake, I became troubled when several of my colleagues mentioned \"standing in a doorway\" was a safe thing to do in an earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I knew this was wrong. Really wrong. In all likelihood, the idea of the doorway being safe in a quake goes back to the 19th century, when homes were built of adobe. Adobe crumbles in an earthquake and the only thing left standing would be the wood-framing of the doorway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not many people live in adobe homes these days. Instead, experts say to drop, cover and hold on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/vaccine-opt-out-rate-doubled-in-7-years-look-up-your-school-online/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/vaccine-opt-out-rate-doubled-in-7-years-look-up-your-school-online/\" target=\"_blank\">Vaccine Opt-Out Rate Doubled in 7 Years; Look Up Your School Online\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_5990\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/05/Vaccination-Large-Jeff-J-Mitchell-Getty-e1411754682989.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-5990\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2012/05/Vaccination-Large-Jeff-J-Mitchell-Getty-620x398.jpg\" alt=\"(Jeff J. Mitchell: Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"398\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Jeff J. Mitchell: Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The rate of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children doubled over seven years. Olivia Allen-Price used \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/our-vaccine-database-methodology/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/11/our-vaccine-database-methodology/\" target=\"_blank\">seven years of state data \u003c/a>of vaccine rates at 8,220 public, private and parochial schools statewide to create an easy look-up tool where parents could see what the opt-out rate is at their own school. We followed up with\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/26/vaccine-opt-out-rate-at-sons-school-is-32-percent-should-i-freak-out/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/26/vaccine-opt-out-rate-at-sons-school-is-32-percent-should-i-freak-out/\" target=\"_blank\"> a story about a parent \u003c/a>who wondered, \"Should I freak out?\" when he discovered the opt-out rate at his son's school was 32 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4) \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/10/09/for-legal-immigrants-obamacare-has-options-for-aging-parents/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/10/09/for-legal-immigrants-obamacare-has-options-for-aging-parents/\" target=\"_blank\">For Legal Immigrants, Obamacare Has Options for Aging Parents\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15577\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-15577\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg\" alt=\"A view of the the Statue of Liberty. (Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378-400x295.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/172615408-e1387329913378-320x236.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the the Statue of Liberty. (Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of all the stories about the Affordable Care Act we have written (and there have been \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/category/reform/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/category/reform/\" target=\"_blank\">a lot of them\u003c/a>), this one -- about options for aging parents of legal immigrants -- got the most traffic. Why? Because before Obamacare, newly-arrived aging immigrants had few health insurance options. They were not eligible for Medicare, and because of the existence of Medicare, there was virtually no insurance market for people over 65. Under the ACA, lawfully present immigrants are eligible to apply for insurance on the Obamacare exchanges, including Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED's \u003ca title=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" target=\"_blank\">Obamacare Guide\u003c/a>, while not technically a post on State of Health was produced by the State of Health team, and it continues to get the most views of any of our Obamacare coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5)\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/06/23/share-your-bill-make-health-costs-transparent-in-california/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/06/23/share-your-bill-make-health-costs-transparent-in-california/\" target=\"_blank\"> PriceCheck Project: Creating A Database of Real Health Care Costs\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_19667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-19667\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg\" alt=\"(Illustration: Andy Warner)\" width=\"640\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf-400x129.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/06/RS10943_Facebook_Final-hpf-320x103.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Illustration: Andy Warner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Health care costs are notoriously opaque and wildly variable. So, we teamed up with LA's KPCC, and ClearHealthCosts.com, a New York City start-up, to launch PriceCheck, a crowdsourced database of health care costs. We launched in June and held our breath. Would you, our audience, share your prices? Yes, hundreds of you did. Thousands more searched our database looking for real prices. We'll be back in 2015 with more \u003ca title=\"http://pricecheck-healthcosts.tumblr.com\" href=\"http://pricecheck-healthcosts.tumblr.com\" target=\"_blank\">PriceCheck stories\u003c/a>. But for now, thank you for making this project such a success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We appreciate your being part of the State of Health community, and we look forward to sharing more health stories with you in 2015!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23291/top-5-stories-on-state-of-health-in-2014",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_12",
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23293",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_23256": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_23256",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "23256",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1419979353000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1419979353,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "New Health Laws Set to Take Effect in California",
"title": "New Health Laws Set to Take Effect in California",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_22731\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-22731\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new year will bring in hundreds of new laws in California, including a landmark law that permits undocumented individuals to \u003ca title=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/12/23/371948377/california-dmv-prepares-for-undocumented-residents-applying-for-licenses\" href=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/12/23/371948377/california-dmv-prepares-for-undocumented-residents-applying-for-licenses\" target=\"_blank\">obtain a driver's license\u003c/a> and another requiring that all \u003ca title=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2014/12/29/how-californias-new-rules-are-scrambling-the-egg-industry/\" href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2014/12/29/how-californias-new-rules-are-scrambling-the-egg-industry/\" target=\"_blank\">eggs sold\u003c/a> in California come from chickens living in bigger spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those new laws have to deal with health. Some take effect on Jan. 1, others in July. Here's a look at some of them:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Assisted Living Homes\u003c/strong>: A new law increases 100-fold the top fine for violations of state regulations by assisted living facilities for the elderly. The fine is jumping from a mere $150 to $15,000. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2236\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2236\" target=\"_blank\">AB2236\u003c/a> takes effect July 1 and was part of a \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/30/brown-signs-package-of-assisted-living-reform-bills/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/30/brown-signs-package-of-assisted-living-reform-bills/\" target=\"_blank\">package of bills\u003c/a> signed by the governor that tighten state oversight of the 7,500 assisted living homes in California. It's the most significant overhaul of the industry in almost 30 years.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paid Sick Leave: \u003c/strong>Nearly all California employers will be required, starting July 1, to provide at least three paid sick days to their workers.\u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1522&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1522&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\"> The new law\u003c/a> largely affects millions of lower-wage service industry workers, including retail and fast food employees who don't already have paid sick leave. Under the law, workers accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Death Certificates: \u003c/strong>Coroners will be required to list a person's sex according to the person's gender identity, not simply sexual anatomy. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1577&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1577&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">The law\u003c/a> was inspired in part by\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/04/18/male-in-life-female-in-death-the-story-of-christopher-lees-death-certificate/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/04/18/male-in-life-female-in-death-the-story-of-christopher-lees-death-certificate/\" target=\"_blank\"> the death of Christopher Lee\u003c/a>, co-founder of the Transgender Film Festival. After he committed suicide, his friends were shocked to learn that his death certificate listed him as \"female,\" despite the fact he'd lived as a man for nearly 20 years. The law takes affect in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pesticide Use at Schools: \u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml\" target=\"_blank\">An amendment \u003c/a>to the Healthy Schools Act of 2000 requires that K-12 schools and licensed child care centers choose the \"least toxic pest management practices.\" Under the new law, schools are to follow an integrated pest management approach, which generally focuses more on prevention with the fewest hazards to people and to the environment. It takes effect in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Concussions: \u003c/strong>Athletes who suffer a concussion or head injury must wait a minimum of seven days to return to play and have a doctor's permission to do so \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2127&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2127&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">under this law\u003c/a>. The law also limits teams to two full-contact practice sessions twice a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Provider Network Adequacy: \u003c/strong>After the launch of Covered California, one of the issues that cropped up almost immediately was problems consumers were having \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/11/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/11/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance/\" target=\"_blank\">in finding a doctor \u003c/a>who would take their insurance. One of the ways insurers hold down premiums is by narrowing their provider network -- they offer doctors and hospitals lower reimbursements in exchange for delivering them a higher volume of patients. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB964&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB964&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">This new law\u003c/a> requires the Department of Managed Health Care to provide greater oversight of health plan network adequacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Hospital Fair Pricing: \u003c/strong>Low-income Californians (less than 350 percent of poverty) will be eligible for a \"reasonable payment plan\" if they receive a hospital bill, \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=bf0e28ec9c4204a41c6d24ba74b2?bill_id=201320140SB1276\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=bf0e28ec9c4204a41c6d24ba74b2?bill_id=201320140SB1276\" target=\"_blank\">under this new law\u003c/a> taking effect Jan. 1. Their payments would be capped at 10 percent of income after living expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Soda Tax:\u003c/strong> While it's not a statewide law, perhaps the most-noticed law going into effect Jan. 1 is \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/04/will-berkeley-and-san-francisco-soda-tax-measures-set-precedent/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/04/will-berkeley-and-san-francisco-soda-tax-measures-set-precedent/\" target=\"_blank\">Berkeley's soda tax\u003c/a> measure, passed with a whopping 75 percent of the vote in November. The law places a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened beverages. The tax is imposed on distributors, but analysts have long believed that it will be passed through to consumers. While the tax is not earmarked, the law requires that a panel of health experts advise Berkeley's City Council on how to spend the tax, with an eye toward programs that further reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and mitigate the health effects of that consumption.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "23256 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=23256",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/30/new-health-laws-set-to-take-effect-in-california/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 671,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 12
},
"modified": 1475177401,
"excerpt": "Many deal with health, ranging from paid sick leave to pesticide use at schools to concussions.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Many deal with health, ranging from paid sick leave to pesticide use at schools to concussions.",
"title": "New Health Laws Set to Take Effect in California | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "New Health Laws Set to Take Effect in California",
"datePublished": "2014-12-30T14:42:33-08:00",
"dateModified": "2016-09-29T12:30:01-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "new-health-laws-set-to-take-effect-in-california",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/23256/new-health-laws-set-to-take-effect-in-california",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_22731\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-e1417052239382.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-22731\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/11/RS1449_saccapitoldome090911-lpr-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new year will bring in hundreds of new laws in California, including a landmark law that permits undocumented individuals to \u003ca title=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/12/23/371948377/california-dmv-prepares-for-undocumented-residents-applying-for-licenses\" href=\"http://www.npr.org/2014/12/23/371948377/california-dmv-prepares-for-undocumented-residents-applying-for-licenses\" target=\"_blank\">obtain a driver's license\u003c/a> and another requiring that all \u003ca title=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2014/12/29/how-californias-new-rules-are-scrambling-the-egg-industry/\" href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2014/12/29/how-californias-new-rules-are-scrambling-the-egg-industry/\" target=\"_blank\">eggs sold\u003c/a> in California come from chickens living in bigger spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those new laws have to deal with health. Some take effect on Jan. 1, others in July. Here's a look at some of them:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Assisted Living Homes\u003c/strong>: A new law increases 100-fold the top fine for violations of state regulations by assisted living facilities for the elderly. The fine is jumping from a mere $150 to $15,000. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2236\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2236\" target=\"_blank\">AB2236\u003c/a> takes effect July 1 and was part of a \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/30/brown-signs-package-of-assisted-living-reform-bills/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/09/30/brown-signs-package-of-assisted-living-reform-bills/\" target=\"_blank\">package of bills\u003c/a> signed by the governor that tighten state oversight of the 7,500 assisted living homes in California. It's the most significant overhaul of the industry in almost 30 years.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paid Sick Leave: \u003c/strong>Nearly all California employers will be required, starting July 1, to provide at least three paid sick days to their workers.\u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1522&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1522&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\"> The new law\u003c/a> largely affects millions of lower-wage service industry workers, including retail and fast food employees who don't already have paid sick leave. Under the law, workers accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Death Certificates: \u003c/strong>Coroners will be required to list a person's sex according to the person's gender identity, not simply sexual anatomy. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1577&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1577&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">The law\u003c/a> was inspired in part by\u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/04/18/male-in-life-female-in-death-the-story-of-christopher-lees-death-certificate/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/04/18/male-in-life-female-in-death-the-story-of-christopher-lees-death-certificate/\" target=\"_blank\"> the death of Christopher Lee\u003c/a>, co-founder of the Transgender Film Festival. After he committed suicide, his friends were shocked to learn that his death certificate listed him as \"female,\" despite the fact he'd lived as a man for nearly 20 years. The law takes affect in July.\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>\u003cstrong>Pesticide Use at Schools: \u003c/strong>\u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml\" target=\"_blank\">An amendment \u003c/a>to the Healthy Schools Act of 2000 requires that K-12 schools and licensed child care centers choose the \"least toxic pest management practices.\" Under the new law, schools are to follow an integrated pest management approach, which generally focuses more on prevention with the fewest hazards to people and to the environment. It takes effect in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Concussions: \u003c/strong>Athletes who suffer a concussion or head injury must wait a minimum of seven days to return to play and have a doctor's permission to do so \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2127&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2127&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">under this law\u003c/a>. The law also limits teams to two full-contact practice sessions twice a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Provider Network Adequacy: \u003c/strong>After the launch of Covered California, one of the issues that cropped up almost immediately was problems consumers were having \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/11/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/11/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance/\" target=\"_blank\">in finding a doctor \u003c/a>who would take their insurance. One of the ways insurers hold down premiums is by narrowing their provider network -- they offer doctors and hospitals lower reimbursements in exchange for delivering them a higher volume of patients. \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB964&search_keywords=\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB964&search_keywords=\" target=\"_blank\">This new law\u003c/a> requires the Department of Managed Health Care to provide greater oversight of health plan network adequacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Hospital Fair Pricing: \u003c/strong>Low-income Californians (less than 350 percent of poverty) will be eligible for a \"reasonable payment plan\" if they receive a hospital bill, \u003ca title=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=bf0e28ec9c4204a41c6d24ba74b2?bill_id=201320140SB1276\" href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=bf0e28ec9c4204a41c6d24ba74b2?bill_id=201320140SB1276\" target=\"_blank\">under this new law\u003c/a> taking effect Jan. 1. Their payments would be capped at 10 percent of income after living expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Soda Tax:\u003c/strong> While it's not a statewide law, perhaps the most-noticed law going into effect Jan. 1 is \u003ca title=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/04/will-berkeley-and-san-francisco-soda-tax-measures-set-precedent/\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/11/04/will-berkeley-and-san-francisco-soda-tax-measures-set-precedent/\" target=\"_blank\">Berkeley's soda tax\u003c/a> measure, passed with a whopping 75 percent of the vote in November. The law places a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened beverages. The tax is imposed on distributors, but analysts have long believed that it will be passed through to consumers. While the tax is not earmarked, the law requires that a panel of health experts advise Berkeley's City Council on how to spend the tax, with an eye toward programs that further reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and mitigate the health effects of that consumption.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/23256/new-health-laws-set-to-take-effect-in-california",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14",
"stateofhealth_2746"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_2925",
"stateofhealth_99",
"stateofhealth_75",
"stateofhealth_501"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_22731",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_22957": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_22957",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "22957",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1419611718000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1419611718,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Toby Douglas Looks Back at 10 Years Heading DHCS",
"title": "Toby Douglas Looks Back at 10 Years Heading DHCS",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23139\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 622px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-23139\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png\" alt=\"(Courtesy: California HealthCare Foundation)\" width=\"622\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png 622w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-400x222.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-320x177.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Courtesy: California HealthCare Foundation)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Rachel Dornhelm,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2014/head-of-health-care-services-looks--back-on-tumultuous-fruitful-years\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2014/head-of-health-care-services-looks--back-on-tumultuous-fruitful-years\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Toby Douglas has spent 10 years at the state's Department of Health Care Services, the last four as director of the department. He has seen and instituted big changes in the department, changing the way health care is delivered to more than 11 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his tenure, the Affordable Care Act was passed and implemented; Douglas oversaw the expansion of Medi-Cal as well as a huge shift of more than 80 percent of the state's Medi-Cal ranks from fee-for-service to managed care plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas is set to retire in January. I sat down with him recently to ask about the changes he has seen -- and overseen -- in his time in office, starting with a look at what struck him as the most important development in health care during his time as the head of the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When I step back and I think of our time here in the department and what we've achieved,\" he said, \"it really centers around the Medi-Cal program. We have all of our populations now that are in coordinated systems of care.\" He called the Medi-Cal managed care approach \"a big change,\" for all low-income populations eligible for Medi-Cal. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So we have now a huge change where everyone under a certain income level -- not whether you're a parent, whether you're a disabled adult, but all low-income adults and children -- are eligible for Medi-Cal and they're in this accountable delivery system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act close to a third of all Californians are Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Douglas says it's about more than access to primary and secondary care, but goes beyond that to access to mental health services and substance use treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a big-picture perspective, the move to managed care means more focus on care that \"organized around the consumer,\" Douglas said. Instead of primary care in one location, specialty care in another and mental health care, for example, in yet a third location, the state is pushing to organize care in a more patient-centered and systematic way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Now that we have comprehensive benefits that are working together, to make sure you are providing the right care to those on Medi-Cal or those that are on Covered California. And you’re going to see the different systems - - Medi-Cal, Covered California and the providers -- working together.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Provider Rate Cuts Looming\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the challenges facing California is the limited number of providers who accept Medi-Cal. Those providers already receive some of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Jan. 1 approaches, a two-year pay raise for primary care doctors, funded by the Affordable Care Act, comes to a close. On the same day, \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2014/12/primary-care-medical-providers-about-to-be-hit-by-double-ratecut-whammy\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2014/12/primary-care-medical-providers-about-to-be-hit-by-double-ratecut-whammy\" target=\"_blank\">a state-implemented 10 percent rate cut\u003c/a> to health care providers, a cut that was tied up in court for two years, takes effect. Many advocates worry that low reimbursement rates will push the few remaining providers to stop accepting Medi-Cal patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Douglas if he thought that the state might eventually require providers to provide care for a certain percentage of the Medi-Cal population?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No, I don’t see a future where we're going to have laws to require providers\" to take Medi-Cal, he said. \"What I see is a future where Medi-Cal is becoming more and more mainstream. And it’s becoming more and more the case that health plans want to participate in Medi-Cal and providers do, too.\" '\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas agreed that fee-for-service rates were low, but he argued that plans are not looking at those rates. Plans are accountable and have to provide care. Plans need to work with providers to figure out rates, he argued. Both plans and providers benefit from being part of Medi-Cal, Douglas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"(Plans) are going to have to keep on figuring out what the market dictates to make sure there are a sufficient number of providers. And providers are going to have to see that a third of the market is now Medi-Cal,\" Douglas said. \"If they want to be seeing patients, and knowing that patients are going to move from Medi-Cal to other forms of coverage, whether it’s Covered California or employer-based, that they're going to need to participate.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers will need to offer services differently to keep their costs down, Douglas said, and will likely start looking at group visits, e-consults and email visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So fundamentally I think over time, Medi-Cal is going to become more and more mainstream and providers are going to participate in the program,\" Douglas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DHCS Structural Changes \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Medi-Cal population has moved into managed care, Douglas said that DHCS had to dramatically reorganize as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas also said the agency has worked hard to increase transparency. \"We've gone through a lot of work on increasing our stakeholder engagement, increasing our focus externally. And it's never enough, but we have accomplished so much to increase our engagement, whether it's through the website, through newsletters, through stakeholder convenings -- to really make sure make sure that we're engaging and being informed by the public input.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said efforts around transparency is something that DHCS will continue to work on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Accountability and performance of our plans is another, which is also about transparency -- making sure we're being able to publicly report on their accountability, as well as the integration around behavioral health with physical health, those are all going to be big areas to focus on as we move forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas also discussed key initiatives for older Californians:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Aging population, specifically the Coordinated Care Initiative:\u003c/strong> There are multiple components of that initiative, from our work on trying to make sure that we're rebalancing care in providing home and community-based care, to better integrating [care], whether it's the personal care services, home care services with behavioral health and physical health.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>End-of-life care\u003c/strong>: And looking at efforts to do better palliative care, where we're giving the right choices and the right ability to receive care in the home at the end of life rather than always in an inpatient setting. And I expect, fully expect, that we in the department will be looking at ways to continue to push that.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>As we wrapped up, Douglas declined to say what he might do next. \"I'm still exploring all my options,\" he said, \"but I still definitely want to continue to make sure that I'm improving the overall health. And I am looking at different places to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This has been an amazing experience, amazing opportunity. Public service is just an honor. Maybe in the future I'll come back into service, whether it's the state, county or federal level. But for now I'm trying different opportunities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department has not yet named a replacement for Douglas.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "22957 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=22957",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/12/26/toby-douglas-looks-back-at-10-years-heading-dhcs/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1202,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 29
},
"modified": 1419899896,
"excerpt": "As head of the Department of Health Care Services, Douglas oversaw the expansion of Medi-Cal under the ACA, among many other initiatives.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "As head of the Department of Health Care Services, Douglas oversaw the expansion of Medi-Cal under the ACA, among many other initiatives.",
"title": "Toby Douglas Looks Back at 10 Years Heading DHCS | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Toby Douglas Looks Back at 10 Years Heading DHCS",
"datePublished": "2014-12-26T08:35:18-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-12-29T16:38:16-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "toby-douglas-looks-back-at-10-years-heading-dhcs",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/22957/toby-douglas-looks-back-at-10-years-heading-dhcs",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_23139\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 622px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-23139\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png\" alt=\"(Courtesy: California HealthCare Foundation)\" width=\"622\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM.png 622w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-400x222.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-1.39.42-PM-320x177.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Courtesy: California HealthCare Foundation)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Rachel Dornhelm,\u003c/strong> \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2014/head-of-health-care-services-looks--back-on-tumultuous-fruitful-years\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2014/head-of-health-care-services-looks--back-on-tumultuous-fruitful-years\" target=\"_blank\">California Healthline\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Toby Douglas has spent 10 years at the state's Department of Health Care Services, the last four as director of the department. He has seen and instituted big changes in the department, changing the way health care is delivered to more than 11 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During his tenure, the Affordable Care Act was passed and implemented; Douglas oversaw the expansion of Medi-Cal as well as a huge shift of more than 80 percent of the state's Medi-Cal ranks from fee-for-service to managed care plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas is set to retire in January. I sat down with him recently to ask about the changes he has seen -- and overseen -- in his time in office, starting with a look at what struck him as the most important development in health care during his time as the head of the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When I step back and I think of our time here in the department and what we've achieved,\" he said, \"it really centers around the Medi-Cal program. We have all of our populations now that are in coordinated systems of care.\" He called the Medi-Cal managed care approach \"a big change,\" for all low-income populations eligible for Medi-Cal. \u003c!--more-->\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>\"So we have now a huge change where everyone under a certain income level -- not whether you're a parent, whether you're a disabled adult, but all low-income adults and children -- are eligible for Medi-Cal and they're in this accountable delivery system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act close to a third of all Californians are Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Douglas says it's about more than access to primary and secondary care, but goes beyond that to access to mental health services and substance use treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a big-picture perspective, the move to managed care means more focus on care that \"organized around the consumer,\" Douglas said. Instead of primary care in one location, specialty care in another and mental health care, for example, in yet a third location, the state is pushing to organize care in a more patient-centered and systematic way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Now that we have comprehensive benefits that are working together, to make sure you are providing the right care to those on Medi-Cal or those that are on Covered California. And you’re going to see the different systems - - Medi-Cal, Covered California and the providers -- working together.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Provider Rate Cuts Looming\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the challenges facing California is the limited number of providers who accept Medi-Cal. Those providers already receive some of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Jan. 1 approaches, a two-year pay raise for primary care doctors, funded by the Affordable Care Act, comes to a close. On the same day, \u003ca title=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2014/12/primary-care-medical-providers-about-to-be-hit-by-double-ratecut-whammy\" href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2014/12/primary-care-medical-providers-about-to-be-hit-by-double-ratecut-whammy\" target=\"_blank\">a state-implemented 10 percent rate cut\u003c/a> to health care providers, a cut that was tied up in court for two years, takes effect. Many advocates worry that low reimbursement rates will push the few remaining providers to stop accepting Medi-Cal patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Douglas if he thought that the state might eventually require providers to provide care for a certain percentage of the Medi-Cal population?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No, I don’t see a future where we're going to have laws to require providers\" to take Medi-Cal, he said. \"What I see is a future where Medi-Cal is becoming more and more mainstream. And it’s becoming more and more the case that health plans want to participate in Medi-Cal and providers do, too.\" '\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas agreed that fee-for-service rates were low, but he argued that plans are not looking at those rates. Plans are accountable and have to provide care. Plans need to work with providers to figure out rates, he argued. Both plans and providers benefit from being part of Medi-Cal, Douglas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"(Plans) are going to have to keep on figuring out what the market dictates to make sure there are a sufficient number of providers. And providers are going to have to see that a third of the market is now Medi-Cal,\" Douglas said. \"If they want to be seeing patients, and knowing that patients are going to move from Medi-Cal to other forms of coverage, whether it’s Covered California or employer-based, that they're going to need to participate.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers will need to offer services differently to keep their costs down, Douglas said, and will likely start looking at group visits, e-consults and email visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So fundamentally I think over time, Medi-Cal is going to become more and more mainstream and providers are going to participate in the program,\" Douglas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>DHCS Structural Changes \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Medi-Cal population has moved into managed care, Douglas said that DHCS had to dramatically reorganize as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas also said the agency has worked hard to increase transparency. \"We've gone through a lot of work on increasing our stakeholder engagement, increasing our focus externally. And it's never enough, but we have accomplished so much to increase our engagement, whether it's through the website, through newsletters, through stakeholder convenings -- to really make sure make sure that we're engaging and being informed by the public input.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said efforts around transparency is something that DHCS will continue to work on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Accountability and performance of our plans is another, which is also about transparency -- making sure we're being able to publicly report on their accountability, as well as the integration around behavioral health with physical health, those are all going to be big areas to focus on as we move forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Douglas also discussed key initiatives for older Californians:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Aging population, specifically the Coordinated Care Initiative:\u003c/strong> There are multiple components of that initiative, from our work on trying to make sure that we're rebalancing care in providing home and community-based care, to better integrating [care], whether it's the personal care services, home care services with behavioral health and physical health.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>End-of-life care\u003c/strong>: And looking at efforts to do better palliative care, where we're giving the right choices and the right ability to receive care in the home at the end of life rather than always in an inpatient setting. And I expect, fully expect, that we in the department will be looking at ways to continue to push that.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>As we wrapped up, Douglas declined to say what he might do next. \"I'm still exploring all my options,\" he said, \"but I still definitely want to continue to make sure that I'm improving the overall health. And I am looking at different places to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This has been an amazing experience, amazing opportunity. Public service is just an honor. Maybe in the future I'll come back into service, whether it's the state, county or federal level. But for now I'm trying different opportunities.\"\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>The department has not yet named a replacement for Douglas.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/22957/toby-douglas-looks-back-at-10-years-heading-dhcs",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_38",
"stateofhealth_99"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_23139",
"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=policy": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 324,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 824,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"stateofhealth_23661",
"stateofhealth_23608",
"stateofhealth_23589",
"stateofhealth_23553",
"stateofhealth_23522",
"stateofhealth_23404",
"stateofhealth_23341",
"stateofhealth_23329",
"stateofhealth_23323",
"stateofhealth_23291",
"stateofhealth_23256",
"stateofhealth_22957"
],
"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_policy": {
"isLoading": true
},
"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_99": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_99",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "99",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medi-Cal",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medi-Cal Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 99,
"slug": "medi-cal",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/medi-cal"
},
"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_914": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_914",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "914",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Aid in Dying",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Aid in Dying Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 917,
"slug": "aid-in-dying",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/aid-in-dying"
},
"stateofhealth_913": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_913",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "913",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Assisted Suicide",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Assisted Suicide Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 916,
"slug": "assisted-suicide",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/assisted-suicide"
},
"stateofhealth_814": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_814",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "814",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "California Nurses Association",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "California Nurses Association Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 817,
"slug": "california-nurses-association",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/california-nurses-association"
},
"stateofhealth_803": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_803",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "803",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Kaiser",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Kaiser Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 806,
"slug": "kaiser",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/kaiser"
},
"stateofhealth_489": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_489",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "489",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Undocumented Immigrants",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Undocumented Immigrants Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 490,
"slug": "undocumented-immigrants",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/undocumented-immigrants"
},
"stateofhealth_459": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_459",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "459",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Caregivers",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Caregivers Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 460,
"slug": "caregivers",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/caregivers"
},
"stateofhealth_474": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_474",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "474",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "In Home Supportive Services",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "In Home Supportive Services Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 475,
"slug": "in-home-supportive-services",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/in-home-supportive-services"
},
"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_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_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_2925": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_2925",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "2925",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Election 2016",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Election 2016 Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 2934,
"slug": "election-2016",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/election-2016"
},
"stateofhealth_75": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_75",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "75",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Soda Tax",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Soda Tax Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 75,
"slug": "soda-tax",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/soda-tax"
},
"stateofhealth_501": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_501",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "501",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Transgender Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Transgender Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 502,
"slug": "transgender-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/transgender-health"
},
"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"
}
},
"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": {}
}
}
}