California’s Mental Health Bond Proposition 1 Passes With Thin Margin
Now it's been passed, the San Francisco Chronicle explains Prop. 1 will see a $6.4 billion bond fund used to boost mental health services in the state. AP also reports California wants to up doctor's payments for seeing Medicaid patients.
San Francisco Chronicle:
California's Prop. 1 Finally Secures Enough Votes To Pass
Proposition 1, the mental health bond championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, finally secured enough votes to pass Wednesday. The Associated Press called the race more than two weeks after polls closed, a sign of how surprisingly close the race was. The latest vote totals show the measure winning 50.2% to 49.8%, enough of a margin to ensure its passage. Under Proposition 1, California will use $6.4 billion in bond funding to build housing and residential treatment facilities for people with mental illness and will divert more of the state’s mental health funding to intensive treatment. (Bollag, 3/20)
AP:
California Wants To Pay Doctors More Money To See Medicaid Patients
When Hunter Morgan bought an optometry practice in Southern California three years ago, one of the first things he did was start seeing patients who use Medicaid — the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people. The previous owners had not accepted patients on Medicaid, which covers roughly a third of California’s 39 million residents. But Morgan felt he had a responsibility to serve people in need. (Beam, 3/21)
CBS News:
SFHSA Workers Picket Over Short Staffing, Say Prop. F Drug Screening Law Hard To Implement
Workers with San Francisco's Human Services Agency are demanding change. Their union, SEIU 1021, say the agency is so short staffed, it's making it difficult for them to do their jobs. They say challenges will become even greater if they have to implement a new drug screening law. On Wednesday, more than a hundred workers rallied for better working conditions, including Alejandra Calveron. "They keep moving me from department to department to help different areas of need because we don't have enough staff," Calveron regarding the current issues. (Hari, 3/20)
The Mercury News:
Amputations, Sexual Assault, Lice: Bay Area Nursing Home Operator Settles Lawsuit
A company operating 10 nursing homes in and around the Bay Area has settled a lawsuit by local county prosecutors and the State of California alleging it neglected vulnerable patients’ medical care and hygiene needs and exposed them to physical and sexual assaults. Under the settlement, Mariner Health Care, ... agreed to pay up to $15.5 million if it fails to abide by terms related to patient safety and staffing levels. (Baron, 3/20)
