Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Covers Free Health Care For Low-Income Immigrants
AP: California First To Cover Health Care For All Immigrants
California on Thursday became the first state to guarantee free health care for all low-income immigrants living in the country illegally, a move that will provide coverage for an additional 764,000 people at an eventual cost of about $2.7 billion a year. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $307.9 billion operating budget that pledges to make all low-income adults eligible for the state’s Medicaid program by 2024 regardless of their immigration status. (Beam and Thompson, 7/1)
AP: California Advances Bid To Create Legal Drug Injection Sites
The California Assembly on Thursday approved a controversial bill allowing Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco to set up places where opioid users could legally inject drugs in supervised settings. The move follows more than a year of legislative consideration, with proponents saying it would save lives and detractors saying it would enable drug addiction. (Thompson, 6/30)
Bloomberg: California To Allow Lawsuits For Marketing Firearms To Children
Gun manufacturers that market kiddie versions of firearms in California would risk being sued under legislation cleared Thursday for the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom. The measure (A.B. 2571), which the state Senate passed 56 to 14 without debate, was partly inspired by a child-size version of the AR-15. (Cutler and Clukey, 6/30)
KHN: California May Require Labels On Pot Products To Warn Of Mental Health Risks
Liz Kirkaldie’s grandson was near the top of his class in high school and a talented jazz bassist when he started smoking pot. The more serious he got about music, the more serious he got about pot. And the more serious he got about pot, the more paranoid, even psychotic, he became. He started hearing voices. (Dembosky, 6/30)
Also —
Los Angeles Times: California To End Contract With AIDS Healthcare Foundation
California will no longer contract with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to provide healthcare plans for hundreds of HIV-positive patients in Los Angeles County after the state accused the high-profile nonprofit of engaging in improper tactics during negotiations over rates. (Gutierrez, 6/30)
KHN: LA’s First Heat Officer Says Helping Vulnerable Communities Is Key To Achieving Climate Goals
As a child growing up in San Jose, California, Marta Segura heard horrific stories from her parents about women fainting on the factory lines and men overheating in the farm fields. They didn’t know those jobs exposed them to life-threatening conditions. Then, it hit home. “My dad, himself, got really sick one time and almost died,” said Segura, 58, the daughter of a bracero and a cannery worker. “That resonated with me as a kid.” (de Marco, 7/1)
