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California has commissioned an exhaustive study of whether its prisons provide a constitutional level of mental health care, which it could use to try to end one of the lawsuits that have federal courts overseeing the stateās prisons. But corrections officials wonāt disclose even basic details of the consultantsā contract, including its cost to taxpayers.
A March 5 ballot initiative seeks $6.4 billion to build thousands of new housing units and provide mental health treatment for homeless people ā on top of the billions already being spent to address the public health crisis. Despite significant support from health and law enforcement officials, many front-line workers are skeptical that more money is the answer.
States are using their Medicaid programs to offer poor and sick people housing services, such as paying six monthsā rent or helping hunt for apartments. The trend comes in response to a growing homelessness epidemic, but experts caution this may not be the best use of limited health care money.
Abortion restrictions in 18 states have curtailed access to training in skills that doctors say are critical for OB-GYN specialists and others. A new California law makes it easier for out-of-state doctors to get experience in reproductive medicine.
Dignity Health is suing several patients and their advocates for ācommercial blockadeā for refusing discharge during the covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuits could set precedents for use of the California commercial blockade statute, conceived to constrain abortion protesters, and how hospitals handle discharges.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits out-of-network ground ambulance operators from billing patients more than they would pay for in-network rides. It also caps how much the uninsured must pay.
California is the first state to ban the controversial diagnosis known as āexcited delirium,ā which has been used increasingly to justify excessive force by law enforcement. A human rights advocate described the law, signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as a āwatershed momentā in criminal justice.
A sweeping agreement approved by state lawmakers would gradually raise the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of health workers to a nation-leading $25 an hour. The pact would also end laborās years-long battle with dialysis clinics.
The California Legislature greenlighted Gov. Gavin Newsomās latest plan to build more housing and increase addiction treatment as part of his response to the stateās homelessness and drug crises.
Individuals newly released from prison are 40 times as likely to die of opioid overdoses than members of the general population, researchers say. In response, California corrections officials aim to arm departing inmates with an antidote that can be used to reverse the effects of opioid poisoning.
The attorney general is warning two tobacco companies, R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, that their reformulated cigarettes appear to violate the stateās ban on flavored tobacco products, based on marketing materials. R.J. Reynolds said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California would cut ties with Walgreens after the company said it would not distribute abortion pills in some states. But federal rules make it difficult for the state to unwind its Medicaid prescription drug agreement, which paid Walgreens $1.5 billion last year.
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.
Last year, state lawmakers adopted the countryās toughest online privacy restrictions. The law offers Congress a path forward on federal protections even as it serves as a cautionary tale for taking on Big Tech.
California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesnāt know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
A state law establishes a list of representatives who can make medical decisions for patients unable to convey their wishes. California is late to making the change; 45 other states and the District of Columbia already have next-of-kin laws.
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 state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senateās influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.
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