The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Ana B. Ibarra was a reporter for 吃瓜不打烊 until February 2020.
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California lawmakers spent big on Medi-Cal in the 2019-20 state budget, voting to cover more older residents and people with disabilities, restore benefits cut during the recession and open the program to eligible young adults who are in the country illegally.聽
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to help an estimated 850,000 Californians pay their health insurance premiums and would fund his plan with a tax penalty on people who don鈥檛 have coverage. If he succeeds, California would be the first state to subsidize middle-income people who make too much to qualify for federal financial aid.
Millions of Californians are vulnerable to hefty surprise medical bills from their trips to the emergency room. Now, state lawmakers are considering a measure to cap how much out-of-network hospitals can charge privately insured patients for emergency care, which could serve as a model for other states.
California officials announced a ban on chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that has been linked to lower IQs, lower birth weights and other developmental issues in children, even as the federal government fights to protect it.
The pesticide chlorpyrifos has been linked to developmental problems in children. Some state and federal lawmakers want the chemical banned, but federal regulators are fighting to keep it on the market.
California hospitals must comply with a new state law that requires them to try to find a safe place for homeless patients upon discharge. But hospitals say doing so isn鈥檛 as easy as calling a shelter and securing a cot.
Parents of students with legitimate learning disabilities worry that a backlash against providing special accommodations in college admissions testing could make it harder for them to succeed.
Health and safety problems at immigration detention facilities throughout California pose a serious risk to detainees, according to two reports released Tuesday. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra and California State Auditor Elaine Howle concluded that federal and local governments are failing to adequately oversee the facilities, allowing the problems to persist.
An Oakland dental clinic has started screening its patients for depression, and referring them to a mental health counselor down the hall for immediate care if necessary. The program at Asian Health Services could be replicated elsewhere, and make help for mental health problems more accessible to hard-to-reach populations.
Inspired by Los Angeles teachers, who were promised 300 more school nurses after striking last month, unions in Denver, Oakland, Calif., and beyond are demanding more school nurses or better compensation for them.
Even though the number of people renewing their Covered California health plans increased this year, new enrollment plunged by nearly a quarter compared with last year, posting a bigger drop than the federal health insurance exchange, healthcare.gov, which saw a 16 percent decrease. Officials largely blame the elimination of the federal tax penalty for people without insurance.
Some doctors and clinics are proactively informing patients about a proposed policy that could jeopardize the legal status of immigrants who use public benefit programs such as Medicaid. Others argue that because this 鈥減ublic charge鈥 proposal isn鈥檛 final 鈥 and may never be adopted 鈥 disseminating too much information could create unnecessary alarm and cause some patients to drop benefits.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made health care a priority in his proposed state budget, asking lawmakers to authorize state-funded financial aid for health insurance, impose a penalty on uninsured Californians and expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants.
Just hours into his tenure as California鈥檚 new governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom proposed major plans to insure more Californians, including state-funded financial aid for health insurance and a requirement for Californians to have coverage.
On New Year鈥檚 Day, California joined the majority of U.S. states that require people convicted of drunken driving to install ignition-linked breathalyzers in their vehicles. If the devices detect alcohol above a predetermined level, the cars don鈥檛 start.
More than a third of high school seniors said they have vaped in the past year 鈥 up nearly 10 percentage points from the previous year. The dramatic jump comes despite efforts by public health officials, educators and lawmakers to reverse the e-cigarette trend among youths, including a recent proposal to ban retail sales of flavored tobacco products in California.
As wildfires blaze in Northern and Southern California, millions of people outside of the burn zones are getting exposed to dangerous wildfire smoke. For those donning face masks for protection, only a specific mask will work.
The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.
California鈥檚 13 children鈥檚 hospitals are asking voters in November to approve $1.5 billion in bonds to help them pay for construction and equipment, the third such measure in 14 years. Some health care experts and election analysts believe the repeated financial requests aren鈥檛 justified.
San Joaquin Valley residents breathe some of the dirtiest air in the country, but it can be a challenge for them to find accurate and timely information on the air quality in their neighborhoods. This summer, nonprofit organizations began distributing 20 small air monitors to hard-hit families, and next year, the state is expected to install monitoring systems in some communities.
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