Samantha Young

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syoung@kff.org
@youngsamantha

California Speeds Up Indoor Heat Protections Amid Sweltering Summer Weather

KFF Health News Original

Indoor workers who toil in hot jobsites in California gain immediate protection from this summer’s extreme heat. The state’s worker safety chief announced finalized rules Wednesday, capping a years-long push by workers.

En medio de un verano abrasador, California acelera protecciones contra el calor extremo en interiores

KFF Health News Original

California ha tenido estándares para proteger a los trabajadores al aire libre del calor desde 2005, pero el estado anunció el miércoles 24 de julio que ya había acelerado la revisión de un conjunto de reglas para los trabajadores en interiores.

California Health Care Pioneer Goes National, Girds for Partisan Skirmishes

KFF Health News Original

Anthony Wright, a champion for Californians’ health care rights, will take the helm of Families USA in Washington, D.C., where he plans to campaign for more affordable and accessible care nationally. He leaves Health Access California, where he helped outlaw surprise medical billing, require companies to report drug price increases, and cap hospital bills for uninsured patients.

Heat Rules for California Workers Would Also Help Keep Schoolchildren Cool

KFF Health News Original

Proposed state standards to protect indoor workers from extreme heat would extend to schools. The rules come as climate change is bringing more frequent and intense heat waves, causing schools nationwide to cancel instruction.

Biden Wants Hospitals To Report Data on Gunshot Wounds

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration is enlisting America’s doctors to help combat gun violence. About 160 health-care executives and officials have been invited to the White House today and Friday to promote public health solutions to the epidemic. A top priority, I’m told: The White House wants hospital emergency departments to collect more data about gunshot injuries […]

White House Enlists Doctors and Hospitals To Combat Gun Violence

KFF Health News Original

As Congress remains deadlocked on gun policy, the Biden administration is calling on hospital leaders and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and deaths and step up their violence prevention work.

After a Child’s Death, California Weighs Rules for Phys Ed During Extreme Weather

KFF Health News Original

A California lawmaker wants the state to craft guidelines for how and when schoolchildren can play or exercise during extreme weather, including heat waves. The bill comes after a 12-year-old boy died after a physical education instructor told him to run as the temperature topped 90 degrees.

In Oregon, Medicaid Is Buying People Air Conditioners

KFF Health News Original

Oregon has started providing air conditioners, air purifiers and power banks to help some of its Medicaid recipients cope with soaring heat, smoky skies and other dangers of climate change. It’s a first-in-the-nation experiment that expands a Biden administration strategy to take Medicaid beyond traditional medical care and into the realm of social services. “Climate change is […]

AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change

KFF Health News Original

Oregon is giving Medicaid patients air conditioners and other equipment to help them cope with soaring heat, smoky skies, and other dangers of climate change. Oregon health officials hope to show other states and the federal government that they can save lives and money.

Newsom Offers a Compromise to Protect Indoor Workers from Heat

KFF Health News Original

After rejecting proposed rules to protect millions of workers in sweltering warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other hot workplaces, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has offered a compromise to allow the protections to take effect this summer. But state and local correctional workers — and prisoners — would have to wait even longer.

Heat Protections for California Workers Are in Limbo After Newsom Abandons Rules

KFF Health News Original

Proposed rules to protect millions of workers from potentially dangerous heat inside workplaces are dead after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration refused to sign off. Labor advocates and state regulators are calling for emergency regulations before temperatures soar this summer.

Move to Protect California’s Indoor Workers From Heat Upended by Cost Questions

KFF Health News Original

A years-long process that would have created heat standards for California workers in warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other indoor job sites catapulted into chaos Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration pulled its support. Regulators, saying they felt “blindsided,” approved the regulation anyway. It’s unclear what happens next.

Biden’s Got a Taker for One of His Gun Safety Proposals: California

KFF Health News Original

California could give President Biden a political win this year on gun violence. State senators passed sweeping legislation in January that would toughen gun storage requirements, embracing a White House priority that has languished in Congress. Many states, including California, have laws in place requiring gun owners to securely store their firearms when children are […]

Back From COP28, California Climate Leaders Talk Health Impacts of Warming

KFF Health News Original

Three leading California officials who represented the state at the United Nations climate talks late last year reflect on climate change’s growing threat to human health — and explain what the state is trying to do about it.

Estados utilizan dinero de Medicaid para combatir la violencia con armas de fuego

KFF Health News Original

Una inyección de financiamiento federal confiable podría permitir que organizaciones sin fines de lucro amplíen su alcance para llegar a más residentes con mayor riesgo de ser víctimas de disparos, o de disparar a alguien.

Climate Change Raises Pressure on Biden To Keep Workers Cooler

KFF Health News Original

With climate change posing rising threats to human health, the Biden administration is drafting federal rules to protect construction crews, warehouse workers, delivery drivers and the rest of America’s workforce from extreme heat. The regulatory effort has been years in the making, and its fate is far from certain. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration […]

States Begin Tapping Medicaid Dollars to Combat Gun Violence

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration is allowing states to use money from the insurance program for low-income and disabled residents to pay for gun violence prevention. California and six other states have approved such spending, with more expected to follow.

California protegerá a trabajadores del calor extremo en interiores

KFF Health News Original

Sólo otros dos estados, Minnesota y Oregon, han adoptado normas sobre el calor para las personas que trabajan en interiores, según la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (OSHA).