California Watch
News stories in this section spotlight activities in California, including actions by the state Assembly and state Senate; proposed legislation; regulators like the Department of Managed Health Care and Department of Insurance; and the state ACA exchange, Covered California.
Nearly a half-million health workers who stand to benefit from California’s nation-leading $25 minimum wage law could be in for a rude awakening if hospitals and other health care providers follow through on potential cuts to hours and benefits.
Not filling open positions in state government, cutting a school facilities program and several climate initiatives, delaying funding for public transit — these are some of the first steps that California officials plan to take to deal with a looming multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are trying to find a way to fund Medi-Cal and other promised safety net programs while dealing with a projected deficit of $38 billion to $73 billion.
In what’s expected to be a three-day strike impacting three South Bay hospitals and possibly patient care, thousands of Santa Clara County nurses plan to walk off the job early Tuesday in protest over workplace conditions, wages and staffing ratios. The strike — the first in the union’s history — is scheduled to start at ...
Four weeks since the cyberattack, some providers in California and elsewhere are still waiting to file claims and get reimbursed. In the meantime, they’re scrambling to pay bills and order medical supplies.
California voters have approved a measure that will impose strict requirements on counties to spend on housing and drug treatment programs to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis, in a tissue-thin win for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who personally campaigned for the measure’s passage. Democrats outnumber Republicans by a staggering 2-to-1 in California, and the borderline vote ...
California Assemblyman Anthony Rendon likes to spend his spare time away from the Capitol in Sacramento with his 4-year-old daughter back home near Los Angeles. Last weekend, he took her ice skating and to an indoor playground, then let her get a donut after she agreed to ride her scooter on the way there. “Those ...
Santa Clara County Valley Healthcare is reopening a newly revamped health care center in the historically underserved South County after the site faced closure and years of reduced capacity. Valley Healthcare Center Morgan Hill, formally known as De Paul Health Center, will begin operating on Monday and is set to expand primary care and urgent ...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s expensive ballot-box attempt to tackle the mental health and addiction crisis on the state’s streets is leading by a razor-thin margin, a week after the March 5 election. The close vote reflects growing skepticism among voters that he can effectively address the state’s homelessness epidemic. Proposition 1 would fund thousands of ...
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday that he is throwing his weight behind legislation to bar medical debt from showing up on consumer credit reports, a Democratic-led effort to offer protection to patients squeezed by health care bills. Bonta is a sponsor of Sen. Monique Limón’s bill, which seeks to block health care providers, as ...