Monterey County Health Digest

Following news of the death of pet cats from eating bird flu infected raw food or raw milk, CapRadio has information about how to protect your feline friends.

A new state law will keep medical debt off your credit report, sparing a hit to your all-important credit score. This is a big deal for California where millions struggle with unpaid medical bills. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

For California nurses seeking help with alcohol or drug abuse, the road to recovery through a program managed by their licensing board can be fraught, writes CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang.

California doctors are asking the state to create a ‘safe harbor’ program for addiction recovery. They say the current system discourages doctors from participating because they regard it as punitive.

As the first serious case of bird flu in a human is reported and more dairy herds across the state are infected, California Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency. Read on to learn what that entails.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

California has an aggressive mandate for zero-emission trucks, which are powered by electricity or hydrogen. But trucking companies face big obstacles — and people are still breathing dangerous diesel exhaust.

Are food recalls on the rise? Yes. Read on to learn more.

Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements.

California Democrats have passed two dozen laws to protect abortion access since the Supreme Court in 2021 overturned Roe vs. Wade. New bills are on the table.

Learn how health officials and California dairies are responding, or not, to the explosive spread of bird flu through dairy herds across the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is urgently preparing to protect reproductive rights from the incoming Trump administration—and the looming possibility of Project 2025-inspired policies.

Bird flu has been spreading among dairy workers in California’s Central Valley, jumping from cows to people. A new suspected case in the Bay Area came from an unknown source.

The invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitos have been detected in more areas of Santa Clara County, prompting officials to hold meetings to discuss their response to the threat posed by the species. 

A strain of bird flu that imperiled California poultry and cattle has jumped to people. In humans, the symptoms are mild and the virus has not been transmitted among people.

The Mercury News explains the Proposition 35 to renew the existing tax used to fund Medi-Cal health services.

The summer COVID surge in California may be finally abating, but people are still advised to get update vaccines in anticipation of a resurgence in the fall and winter.

A California minimum wage law that was delayed amid budget troubles is now set to go into effect Oct. 16. It’s expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of workers.

An estimated 1 in 5 schools has no air conditioning and another 10% need repair. Underfunded schools struggle to keep classrooms cool as heat waves intensify. “It’s a hot mess,” one teacher says.

The California surgeon general is launching a campaign today to spread awareness about health conditions that contribute to pregnancy-related deaths, such as heart disease.

California’s new cap on health care cost increases is regarded as the most aggressive in the nation. It includes potential fines against companies that exceed the limit.

H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

Lawmakers approved two bills to allow some community colleges to provide bachelor’s degrees in nursing. That’s setting up another conflict with the California State University, which already offers these bachelor’s degrees.

Almost everyone in California has health insurance. That trend reflects about a decade and a half of policymaking designed to expand access to health care. The state’s average uninsured rate has dropped from nearly one in four Californians in 2009 to less than one in ten today.

Pharmacy benefit managers attempt to negotiate cost savings for insurers. California is considering new rules that would require them to pass their discounts on to consumers.

About 4 in 10 Californians are carrying medical debt. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent that debt from affecting credit scores.

A trio of California Democratic lawmakers say they’re frustrated by high cost estimates that helped kill their health care legislation. Did the Newsom administration inflate the numbers to quietly kill the bills?

Birth centers are popular options for families who want to deliver a baby outside of a hospital. Nineteen of them closed in California in the past decade, deepening the state’s maternity care crisis.

Montage Health is opening a new 16-bed mental health in Monterey for children, teens and young adults.

The chemical, used for decades, can harm babies’ developing brains. Farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk. The EPA issued a rare emergency order.

About 80 Californians die every year after contracting Valley fever, a fungal disease that typically affects the lungs. A recent outbreak was traced to a music festival in Kern County.