Kayla Webster

Reporter

United States

A journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering general assignments, healthcare for business, and human resources. Recipient of a healthcare reporter fellowship from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing in 2018. Northern California native living in the Big Apple.

Portfolio

Health

Health Payer Specialist - Financial Times
06/21/2023
Not All Payers Balk at GLP-1 Coverage

Most health insurance companies won't cover weight loss medications to trim down, but some are finding creative ways to make it work.

Health Payer Specialist - Financial Times
04/21/2023
Payers Pass on Breast Explant Surgery

Breast implants are making women sick, but health insurance companies refuse to cover removals.

Employee Benefit News
07/22/2019
Employers are in a position to stem opioid addiction. Why aren't they?

Kate Nicholson was curled up under her desk, writhing in pain, when her spine caught fire. A previous operation to correct the effects of endometriosis caused the nerves in her back to grow hypersensitive; droplets of water in the shower felt like needles piercing her skin. Soon, she'd be unable to walk.

Employee Benefit News
04/05/2019
Pinterest: Traditional insurance 'was letting us down'

Pinterest has joined a growing rank of employers who are fed up with the healthcare system and doing away with traditional insurance models as a result. The social media platform switched from their traditional healthcare plan to a self-funded model provided by Collective Health, a San Francisco-based healthcare and benefits company, at the start of 2018.

Employee Benefit News
03/19/2019
The true cost of ignoring mental health in the workplace

Some employees are stressed to death at work - literally. But the right benefits can help save lives. A report gathered by the American Heart Association, and a coalition of over 40 CEOs from large companies - called the AHA CEO Roundtable - illustrated how mental health impacts employees' physical health, and their employer's bottom line.

Employee Benefit News
12/19/2018
The secret to a city's big savings on employee healthcare

Faced with crippling insurance premium hikes, the city of Arvada, Colorado, made a big decision to restructure its benefit offerings to be self-insured. The city has over 700 employees, with a large portion suffering from age-related chronic diseases, according to Arvada City Manager Mark Deven.

Sacramento Business Journal
Sacramento-based NeuroVision Imaging Inc. raises $11.2 million in venture capital - Sacramento...

Sacramento-based NeuroVision Imaging Inc. said it's raised $11.2 million in venture capital from investors including Rancho Cordova-based vision care services company VSP Global and funds controlled by Johnson & Johnson and Nikon Corp. Along with VSP, Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC and Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, NeuroVision said it received capital from Wildcat Capital Management and Whittier Ventures.

Sacramento Business Journal
Sutter Health responds to suit - Sacramento Business Journal

Sutter Health asked a court to throw out California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's antitrust suit against the Sacramento-based health system on Tuesday, arguing that the action could "strip apart an entire health care system" and "inflict serious harm on this highly complex industry." No action was taken by the court on Tuesday.

Sacramento Business Journal
Sutter Health CTO resigns - Sacramento Business Journal

Sutter Health appointed Frank Rausch as its interim chief technology officer, after the Sacramento-based health system's former chief technology officer took an executive position with a Massachusetts-based IT security company. For the last 14 years, Rausch served as Sutter's technical services operations director and service line executive director before being named interim chief technology officer.

Human Resources

Employee Benefit News
03/09/2019
How close is the US to mandating paid parental leave?

WASHINGTON - Forty-one nations guarantee their citizens paid parental leave to care for and bond with a new child - the United States isn't one of them. But that may change. President Trump renewed his call for federal paid parental leave last month during the State of the Union address, but what's been happening since then?

Features

Appeal-Democrat
Yuba City High grad to launch smartphone app

Yuba City High School didn't offer computer science classes when Zack Prager, 38, graduated in 1995, yet he's become the proud developer of an application designed to help people reconnect to the real world.

Appeal-Democrat
Orland author honored for latest book

But Callan's latest novel is special for another reason; this year, his narrative was awarded Best Outdoor Novel of the Year by the Outdoor Writers Association of California - a group of professional writers dedicated to the great outdoors. "I was flabbergasted when I won," Callan said.

Appeal-Democrat
01/05/2038
38th Annual Sikh Festival And Parade: The song of sacred text

Tour of Sikh temple, bazaar and kitchens afford hundreds the chance to experience Sikhism Posted: Sunday, November 5, 2017 12:16 am Although the parade wasn't for another day, hundreds of people gathered at the Sikh temple to enjoy festivities and religious readings on Saturday.

Appeal-Democrat
Sutter blasts Anderson 55-0 for fourth straight Northern Section title

A 10-year dream ended in triumph under the glow of stadium lights Saturday night, as Sutter High's football team clinched its fourth consecutive Northern Section Division III championship at Wayne Gadberry Field. But the Huskies secured another title with this win on Saturday.

Lavish Living Magazine
09/01/2016
A Sweet Romance

A profile on Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates.

Metro

Appeal-Democrat
Legislation could release murderer of Colusa teen

Senate Bill 394 changes the rules for the sentences of crimes committed by minors. If passed, convicted murderers who were under the age of 18 when the crime was committed will be able to qualify for parole after serving 25 years in prison. Even those sentenced to life without parole will qualify.

Appeal-Democrat
Dramatic video shows woman's escape

She said it was like driving through hellfire. A cellphone video chronicling a Loma Rica woman's harrowing escape from the flames of the Cascade Fire has been making its rounds on social media and various news outlets. The woman who took the video - Kylie Bumpus, 23 - said she and her family barely escaped with their lives.

Appeal-Democrat
Wife accused of felony child endangerment for remaining silent about child porn cache

Rachel Wolfenbarger said she didn't know about her husband's child pornography collection, or that he'd been secretly filming a minor under the age of 14. But the Colusa County District Attorney's Office said there's evidence proving she knew everything and remained silent. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety.

Appeal-Democrat
Marijuana company interested in Williams

The cannabis industry has its sights set on Colusa County. Revolution Enterprises, a company that grows and processes marijuana, has shown interest in expanding to Williams and is the third cannabis company that has proposed setting up shop in the county. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety.