Statewide Region Local News: Health

12/02/2024
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.

12/02/2024
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.

11/25/2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom is urgently preparing to protect reproductive rights from the incoming Trump administration—and the looming possibility of Project 2025-inspired policies.

11/25/2024
Learn how health officials and California dairies are responding, or not, to the explosive spread of bird flu through dairy herds across the state.

11/19/2024
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.

11/01/2024
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. 

10/29/2024
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.

10/04/2024
The Mercury News explains the Proposition 35 to renew the existing tax used to fund Medi-Cal health services.

10/02/2024
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.

10/01/2024
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.

09/30/2024
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.

09/17/2024
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.

09/17/2024
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.

09/11/2024
H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

09/05/2024
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.

09/03/2024
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.

08/27/2024
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.

08/26/2024
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?

08/26/2024
About 4 in 10 Californians are carrying medical debt. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent that debt from affecting credit scores.

08/25/2024
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.