Author: Scott Welch

The race for a COVID-19 vaccine is setting off a different kind of competition in Washington: Who will get it first?

Without medication to manage her plaque psoriasis, Jennifer Brown’s face, scalp, trunk and neck periodically become covered in painful red, flaky patches so dry they crack and bleed.

Once a hot topic in American politics, drug prices have taken a back seat to the COVID-19 pandemic and conversations around racial injustice nationwide. In the midst of all that, though, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has still been pushing for drug pricing legislation. But his effort now seems to be losing steam.

The California coronavirus outlook worsened over the holiday weekend, as hospitalizations continued to rise and more counties were added Sunday to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 watch list, which is now at its highest level since the pandemic began.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has taken center stage in Congress, a collection of business and health groups are imploring lawmakers to not forget about another priority: surprise medical bills.

The Assembly is suspending its session until further notice following five confirmed COVID-19 cases among lawmakers and employees.

For the second time in two weeks, the Supreme Court has made clear its views on how and when to sever unconstitutional provisions from a federal law.

As the coronavirus rages through California’s crowded state prisons, threatening those inside and straining community hospitals, pressure is building on Gov. Gavin Newsom to avert a wider public-health crisis by drastically cutting prison populations — including at San Quentin in Marin County, now home to one of the country’s biggest COVID-19 outbreaks.

The seeds of the latest surge in coronavirus cases in California appear to have been planted around Memorial Day.

House Democrats on Monday passed a bill that would bolster the Affordable Care Act by hiking premium subsidies and incentivizing states to expand Medicaid.