The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Rachel Bluth was a correspondent for KFF Health News until February 2023.
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Ride-sharing and delivery services such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are bankrolling California’s Proposition 22, which would keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, not employees. But health benefits? That's something of a stretch.
More than a decade of research tied to California’s stem cell agency hasn’t yielded many cures or much revenue. But backers of a ballot initiative that asks voters for billions more in funding say the work is vital for patients and the scientific community.
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
As California workers and schoolchildren struggled to work from home, state lawmakers met in person. And as their legislative session came to a close in late August, they broke COVID rules: They huddled, let their masks slip below their noses, removed their masks to drink coffee — and required a new mom to vote in person while toting her hungry newborn.
Lawmakers are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign bills that would address the challenges of the current COVID-19 crisis and help the state prepare for future pandemics.
The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.
There’s less time, less attention and fewer resources this year, but that isn’t stopping lawmakers from acting on controversial health care legislation not directly related to the coronavirus pandemic.
State officials had projected that 2 million Californians would join Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people, by July because of the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. Yet enrollment has barely budged, and why is unclear.
California is cutting off funding for COVID-19 testing just when counties say they need more resources in rural and disadvantaged areas.
Easy-breezy guest writer Rachel Bluth fills you in on a healthy dose of news from this past week.
Xavier Becerra has made battling health care consolidation a priority since he became attorney general. Now that COVID-19 threatens vulnerable health care practices, he’s pushing to expand his authority to slow health care mergers.
Before the coronavirus hit, California was looking at a budget surplus of more than $5 billion and lawmakers were debating how to increase the size of government health programs. Now, the state faces a deficit, program cuts, high unemployment — and no significant investment in public health funding at a time when the state needs it the most.
It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.
Many states are dramatically loosening regulations on nurse practitioners as the coronavirus pandemic increases demand for health care workers. But not California.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced millions out of work and the federal-state health program for low-income people could face unprecedented strains as many states don’t necessarily have the resources or systems in place to meet the demand.
About 7 million people across the San Francisco Bay Area began to “shelter in place” Tuesday to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Although public health officials acknowledged the orders were drastic, they also agreed they were necessary.
The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California’s Democratic leaders is costing the Golden State hundreds of millions of health care dollars — with billions more at stake.
Disease experts say a new coronavirus case in California underscores the need for more widespread community testing for the illness, as well as problems caused by the delays in getting functional coronavirus test kits to state and local public health agencies.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom dedicated nearly all of his State of the State address Wednesday to homelessness. To fix that problem, he said, the state must address another one: mental health care.
Although a new state tax penalty and state financial aid motivated people to sign up for health insurance this year, Covered California is reopening enrollment for those who said they weren’t aware of them.
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