California

Latest KFF Health News Stories

California pone gafas, guantes y máscaras a 10.000 trabajadores agrícolas para protegerlos de la gripe aviar

KFF Health News Original

Hasta el momento, se ha confirmado la presencia de gripe aviar en más de 270 granjas lecheras en el centro de California. También detectaron rastros del virus en un sitio de muestreo de aguas residuales en el condado de Los Ángeles.

California Dengue Cases Prompt Swift Response From Public Health Officials

KFF Health News Original

With the arrival in California of dengue, a dangerous mosquito-borne disease present mainly in more tropical climates, public health authorities are deploying a range of strategies to beat back the Aedes mosquitoes that spread the virus.

California Expanded Medi-Cal to Unauthorized Residents. The Results Are Mixed.

KFF Health News Original

California this year completed its Medi-Cal expansion to include income-eligible residents regardless of their immigration status. This final installment of the “Faces of Medi-Cal” series profiles three of those newly eligible patients and how coverage has affected their health.

Prepared for Trump’s Comeback, California’s Attorney General Is Ready To Fight

KFF Health News Original

Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime champion of reproductive rights, is ready to lead California in the fight to protect abortion under Trump’s second presidency. In a Q&A, he shares how his upbringing prepared him for the role.

Can a $10 Billion Climate Bond Address California’s Water Contamination Problem?

KFF Health News Original

California voters will decide in November whether to approve a $10 billion climate bond that supporters say is needed to jump-start water system repairs for residents without safe drinking water. Opponents say those repairs should be prioritized in the state budget, not put on a credit card.

‘A Pressure Campaign’: Beverly Hills Settles After Allegedly Blocking Abortion Clinic

KFF Health News Original

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Beverly Hills after finding city officials pressured the landlord to cancel DuPont Clinic’s lease. It’s the state’s first enforcement action under Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

How a Proposed Federal Heat Rule Might Have Saved These Workers’ Lives

KFF Health News Original

Laborers have suffered in extreme heat triggered by climate change. Deaths aren’t inevitable, researchers say: Employers can save lives by providing ample water and breaks.

California Mental Health Agency Director To Resign Following Conflict of Interest Allegations

KFF Health News Original

Toby Ewing, executive director of California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, is resigning amid an investigation into his conduct and revelations that he traveled to the U.K. courtesy of a vendor as he sought to protect state funding for its contract.

Exclusive: Emails Reveal How Health Departments Struggle To Track Human Cases of Bird Flu

KFF Health News Original

Emails show how health officials struggle to track the bird flu, partly in deference to the agricultural industry. As a result, researchers don’t know how often farmworkers are being infected — and could miss alarming signals.

A California Official Helped Save a Mental Health Company’s Contract. It Flew Him to London.

KFF Health News Original

The director of a California state mental health agency traveled to the U.K. courtesy of Kooth, a digital mental health company with a $271 million contract to build a therapy app for the state’s youth. Weeks earlier, he pressed key legislative staffers to restore a proposed cut to Kooth’s funding.

Crackdown on Homeless Encampments Raises Public Health Questions

KFF Health News Original

As states turn to the health-care system to help address homelessness, experiments with housing and other social services aimed at getting people healthier and off the streets are running up against new, aggressive crackdowns — with some cities ratcheting up enforcement of existing anticamping laws and others passing new restrictions. From Florida to California, elected […]

California Continues Progressive Policies, With Restraint, in Divisive Election Year

KFF Health News Original

This legislative cycle, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills affirming reproductive rights and mandating insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, but the Democrat was reluctant to impose new regulations and frequently cited costs for vetoing bills.

Patients Are Relying on Lyft, Uber To Travel Far Distances to Medical Care

KFF Health News Original

Uber and Lyft have become a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure for transporting ailing people from their homes — even in rural areas — to medical care sites in major cities such as Atlanta.

California Hospitals Scramble on Earthquake Retrofits as State Limits Extensions

KFF Health News Original

California legislators for years have granted extensions on a 1994 law requiring hospitals to retrofit their buildings to withstand earthquakes. Gov. Gavin Newsom in September vetoed an extension for all hospitals but signed a bill granting relief to rural and “distressed” hospitals and some others.

Asian Health Center Tries Unconventional Approach to Counseling

KFF Health News Original

Facing a dire shortage of bilingual and culturally attuned therapists, an Oakland, California, community clinic serving Asian immigrants has trained staffers in a victim support unit to provide lay counseling.

Calif. Ballot Measure Targets Drug Discount Program Spending

KFF Health News Original

Californians in November will weigh in on a ballot initiative to increase scrutiny over the use of health-care dollars — particularly money from a federal drug discount program — meant to support patient care largely for low-income or indigent people. The revenue is sometimes used to address housing instability and homelessness among vulnerable patient populations. Voters […]