Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Plans To Give Health Care Workers $10,000 'Hero' Bonuses
Los Angeles Times: California Bill Would Give Healthcare Workers COVID Bonuses
California lawmakers are considering legislation that would require hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000 in “hero pay” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some employers and business groups have bristled at the $7-billion price tag, calling the bill “dangerous and costly.” (Gutierrez, 6/2)
AP: California To Pay $2M Church Legal Fees Over Virus Closures
The state of California has agreed not to impose greater coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings than it does on retail establishments in a pair of settlements that provide more than $2 million in fees to lawyers who challenged the rules as a violation of religious freedom. A deal approved Tuesday by a federal judge comes after lawyers for a San Diego-area Pentecostal church took their challenge against the state to the U.S. Supreme Court three times and won. (Melley, 6/2)
In other health news from California —
KQED: Amid Ongoing Debate, State Senate Approves Bill To Decriminalize Psychedelic Drugs In California
The California Senate approved legislation to decriminalize the possession or sharing of psychedelic drugs, Tuesday. Senate Bill 519, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, now heads to the state Assembly. “This is a big step for this legislation and for our movement to end the war on drugs and to take a more health and science-based approach and to move away from criminalization of drugs,” Wiener said in a Twitter video posted on Tuesday. (Dembosky and Sarah, 6/2)
KHN: Newsom Wants To Spend Millions On The Health Of Low-Income Mothers And Their Babies
Amid a pandemic that has pushed millions of mothers out of the workplace, caused fertility rates to plunge and heightened the risk of death for pregnant women, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are seeking a slate of health proposals for low-income families and children. Newsom, a self-described feminist and the father of four young children, has long advocated family-friendly health and economic policies. Flush with a projected budget surplus of $75.7 billion, state politicians have come up with myriad legislative and budget proposals to make poorer families healthier and wealthier. (Almendrala, 6/3)
San Francisco Chronicle: Mayor Breed Wants To Add More Than $1 Billion To Fighting Homelessness In San Francisco Over Next Two Years
Mayor London Breed is proposing more than $1 billion in new funding to address homelessness over the next two years — a staggering amount that she hopes will finally make a dent in San Francisco’s most vexing problem. That proposal, announced Tuesday as part of her wider plan for the city’s upcoming $13.1 billion budget, is on top of the $300 million or so already spent directly on homelessness each year. The investment — the majority of which is voter-mandated — reflects the intense pressure Breed and other city leaders are under to address the thousands living on the streets, in shelters and in unstable housing. (Thadani, 6/2)
San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland's New Push To Stem Homelessness: Make RVs And Tiny Homes Legal Residences
Recreational vehicles and tiny homes on wheels would become legal residences in Oakland under a wide-ranging set of proposed planning and building code changes meant to combat the city’s escalating housing costs and the explosion in the population of unhoused residents. The set of Oakland ordinances, set to be announced Tuesday, would provide a “path to legalization” for a variety of housing types that are currently banned under city law but nevertheless have become prevalent in a city where the number of unhoused has jumped 47% from 2017 to 2019. At 940 per 100,000 residents. Oakland now has a slightly higher percentage of unhoused people than San Francisco or Berkeley. (Dineen, 6/1)
