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This month, the federal government started paying for treatments delivered outside hospitals and clinics, expanding funding for āstreet medicineā teams that treat homeless patients. California led the way on the change, which could help sick and vulnerable patients get healthy, sober, and, in some cases, into housing.
As homelessness explodes across California, so does the number of expectant mothers on the streets. Street medicine doctors are getting paid more by Medicaid and offering some of those mothers-to-be a chance to overcome addiction and reverse chronic diseases so they can have healthy babies ā and perhaps keep them.
Californiaās health insurance exchange will reduce how much some patients pay for care next year, including hospital deductibles, appointment copays, and prescription drugs. Lawmakers pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on a four-year-old pledge to use proceeds from a tax penalty on uninsured people to help people pay for treatment.
State officials have promised to boost funding for Californiaās Medicaid program by $11.1 billion starting next year, with most of that money earmarked for higher payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers. But the details have yet to be worked out, and powerful health industry groups are jockeying for position.
University of California researchers found at least 90% of adults experiencing homelessness became homeless while living in the state, and many suffer depression and anxiety living without stable housing.
Annie Malloy, of San Diego, is among the first to receive a new housing move-in benefit from Medi-Cal, Californiaās Medicaid program. Itās an effort to help homeless and near-homeless people who might otherwise rack up huge medical bills.
California Healthline has learned that a coalition of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and community clinics want to lock in a tax on health insurance companies to draw in extra Medicaid funding. It also wants to make the tax permanent.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting pressure from his political allies to begin spending money on health care that the state raised by fining Californians who go without health insurance. But Newsom says the state canāt afford to.
As hospitals squeeze Democratic leaders in Sacramento for more money, health care finance experts and former state officials warn against falling for the industryās fear tactics. They point to healthy profits and a recession-era financing scheme that allows rich hospitals to take tax money from poorer ones.
Gov. Gavin Newsomās ambitious experiment in health care is supposed to cut costs as it fills the needs of hard-to-reach people. The programās start is chaotic and limited, but it shows promise.
Republican state Sen. Roger Niello wants to know whether taxpayers are getting their moneyās worth before spending more. Yet the fiscal conservative from the suburbs of Sacramento sees opportunities for bipartisanship on mental health.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues itās cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who blasted pharmaceutical companies for gouging Californians, is moving ahead with state-branded insulin. Heās also eyeing other generic drugs.
The state wants to stop paying Kaiser Permanente for treating severely mentally ill Medi-Cal patients in Sacramento and Solano counties and force the counties to take on the task. The countiesā leaders say they canāt afford it.
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the stateās population ā offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new āFaces of Medi-Calā series, California Healthline will assess the programās strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters his second term, his legacy as governor and path forward in the Democratic Party hinge on his making visible headway on Californiaās homeless crisis. We lay out the possibilities ā and challenges ā as he unleashes an $18 billion battle plan.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is taking three major drugmakers and three distributors to court, alleging the companies illegally raised prices at the expense of diabetes patients.
California is collecting hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax penalties from uninsured residents. The state was supposed to use the money to help lower costs for Californians who couldnāt afford insurance but hasnāt distributed any of the revenue it has collected ā citing uncertain economic times.
MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it wonāt improve access to basic care.
California state Sen. Richard Pan, who spearheaded some of the countryās most ambitious vaccine mandate legislation, is leaving office this year because of term limits. A pediatrician, he plans to practice medicine full time but has not ruled out a future run for office.
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