Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Billion-Dollar Effort To Reform Mental Health Care Will Go To Calif. Voters
Sacramento Bee: Gavin Newsom’s Plan To Overhaul California’s Mental Health System Heading To Voters In March
California lawmakers endorsed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest plan to address the state’s worsening homeless crisis. Now, it’ll be up to voters. “I was deeply moved by the personal stories that so many legislators have shared, showing how many of us have been touched by the mental health crisis,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday night. “These measures represent a key part of the solution to our homelessness crisis, and improving mental health for kids and families.” The Legislature overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills on Thursday that will form a $6.4 billion bond measure on the March 2024 ballot to overhaul how the state treats mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness. (Angst, 9/14)
San Francisco Chronicle: Voters Likely To Weigh Billions In Funding To House The Mentally Ill
Lawmakers on Thursday advanced two bills to place a measure on California primary ballots in March. One, which would shift the way the state spends tax revenue from the Mental Health Services Act to cover addiction treatment and housing, passed the Assembly on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday. The other measure, which would authorize $6.38 billion in bond funding to build residential treatment facilities, passed the Senate on Thursday and was expected to come up for a final vote in the Assembly later that day. (Bollag, 9/14)
On higher pay for health workers —
Los Angeles Times: Will California Health Workers Get A $25 Minimum Wage? Legislature Sends Bill To Newsom After Long Fight
Even union-friendly Democrats were initially reluctant to approve the worker-focused bill, worried that rural community hospitals already facing bankruptcy would collapse under mass wage increases or pass costs on to patients. Under the bill, workers at large healthcare facilities would earn $23 per hour starting next year, $24 per hour in 2025 and $25 in 2026. That applies to all staff, including nursing assistants, medical coders, launderers and hospital gift shop workers. (Mays, 9/14)
Los Angeles Times: Tens Of Thousands Of Kaiser Workers Approve Possible Strike
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement Thursday that it was confident that it would soon reach an agreement “that strengthens our position as a best place to work and ensures that the high-quality care our members expect from us remains affordable and easy to access.” It called the vote to authorize a strike “a disappointing action considering our progress at the bargaining table” and disputed union claims about its proposals, saying that it was offering wage increases and has been aggressively recruiting to fill positions. (Alpert Reyes, 9/14)
On protections for health workers —
Los Angeles Times: Housekeepers, Cleaners And Nannies Demand OSHA Workplace Protections In California
The California Legislature voted Thursday to make the state the first in the nation to include housekeepers, nannies and other household staff in laws requiring health and safety protections. The fate of the bill now rests with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has vetoed a similar proposal before, saying that while domestic workers “deserve protections to ensure that their workplaces are safe and healthy,” private households cannot be regulated by the state in the same way as businesses. (Mays, 9/14)
