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.
California campgrounds, hotels, gyms, bars and museums may reopen as soon as June 12 if their home counties can prove to the state that public health safety criteria have been met, according to new guidance issued by state health officials Friday.
Nearly three months since the U.S. declared a national emergency over the new coronavirus, some states are reporting a rise in new cases as they lift restrictions meant to slow the virus’s spread.
Two months after Michael McCormick lay in a San Francisco hospital bed fighting to breathe, he fought to prove he got COVID-19 on the job and deserved workers’ compensation — and won.
Gavin Newsom knew it was a political gamble when, as the newly elected mayor of San Francisco, he promised to eradicate chronic homelessness.
San Bernardino County is home for Dr. Brian Savino. It is also an area of California with a pressing need for medical providers. Savino, an emergency room doctor, would like to serve the place he grew up for as long as he can.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s medical mask deal with a Chinese manufacturer could be canceled after the company failed to obtain a federal safety certification.
California’s health care industry has a consolidation problem. Independent physician practices, outpatient clinics and hospitals are merging or getting gobbled up by private equity firms or large health care systems. A single company can dominate an entire community, and in some cases, vast swaths of the state.
Despite having the most serious coronavirus outbreak in California, Los Angeles County on Friday was given the go-ahead to reopen restaurants for in-person dining, and resume services at barbershops and hair salons in the biggest test of whether the state can reopen the economy without causing COVID-19 to spread more rapidly.
As massive protests over the death of George Floyd spread across the country, concerns are being raised over possible coronavirus transmission given close contact.
The region’s wealthiest health care providers are pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in coronavirus emergency funds from the federal government while struggling hospitals are getting just a fraction of the relief.