April Dembosky
April Dembosky is the health reporter for The California Report and KQED News. She covers health policy and public health, and has reported extensively on the economics of health care, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in California, mental health and end-of-life issues. Her work is regularly rebroadcast on NPR and has been recognized with awards from the Society for Professional Journalists (for sports reporting), and the Association of Health Care Journalists (for a story about pediatric hospice). Her hour-long radio documentary about home funeralswon the Best New Artist award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2009. April occasionally moonlights on the arts beat, covering music and dance. Her story about the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man won the award for Best Use of Sound from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. Before joining KQED in 2013, April covered technology and Silicon Valley for The Financial Times, and freelanced for Marketplace and The New York Times. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Smith College.
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This is the first step in a long game to develop clearer prescription drug pricing laws around the country, health policy experts say. -
A bill passed by the California Legislature requires drugmakers to give 60 days' notice before raising a drug's price by 16 percent or more over two years, and to justify the price increase. -
GOP efforts to repeal the ACA are still in flux, and there's more talk now of trying to work out bipartisan fixes for Obamacare. But most suggested remedies won't fix the problems in remote regions. -
A coalition of health clinics in northeast California is asking local officials to defend the Affordable Care Act. And some are, despite the area's conservative politics. -
Some urologists use March Madness as an opportunity to market vasectomy services, offering men the excuse to sit on the sofa for three days to watch college basketball while they recover. -
The health law just needs a tuneup, says the CEO of Molina Healthcare, which operates in 12 states and Puerto Rico. The California-based insurer has seen profits, while Humana and Aetna struggled. -
The VA is now training counselors in how to better understand and bring up guns and gun safety without alienating clients who are combat veterans. -
California made a huge effort to enroll people in Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act. Two-thirds of those people are minorities. If Trump dismantles Obamacare, the change could hit them hard. -
Some networks of hospitals, doctors and medical services are now so dominant in their region that they can hike their prices and force patients to waive the right to sue when things go wrong. -
In California, voters will weigh in on whether adult film performers should be required to use condoms on porn sets. The measure is backed by a controversial figure in gay activism: Michael Weinstein.
