San Joaquin County Health Digest

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.

CapRadio reports on an air monitoring program seeking to determine the cause of respiratory illnesses in South Sacramento.

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.

In their August 27 meeting, the San Joaquin Board of Supervisors directed staff to explore a project to bring a medical school to the county, possibly to be located at the San Joaquin General Hospital campus in the French Camp.

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.

There's an increase of Sacramento area teens becoming addicted to nicotine.

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.

The California Department of Health Care Services has granted $15 million to provide more mental health services to the homeless, whose numbers, according to the recent point-in-time count, have doubled over the last 2 years.

A look at the hottest July ever recorded in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and what's to come.

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.

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

The first two human cases of West Nile virus this season were reported in Yuba and Stanislaus Counties.

In a July 19 statement, the Ripon Consolidated Fire District announced it was suspending ambulance services because of a shortage in staffing.

Swimming is allowed again at Lodi Lake following closure due to bacteria alert.

California State Hospitals can bill patients for the care they receive during confinement. The charges often run in the tens of thousands of dollars, putting vulnerable people in debt for years.

Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.

Stockton Police reported a local woman was injured by a falling bullet fire on July 4.

It's mosquito season, and West Nile virus has been detected in Yolo, Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties. CapRadio presents a guide to staying safe.

The San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District reported mosquitos sampled from Stockton tested positive for West Nile virus.

Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

Even when suicidal, California firefighters struggle to find medical help and navigate the workers’ comp morass to pay for it.

As COVID infections increase, CapRadio provides answers to frequently asked questions.