California is the first state to ban the controversial diagnosis known as “excited delirium,” which has been used increasingly to justify excessive force by law enforcement. A human rights advocate described the law, signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as a “watershed moment” in criminal justice.
Teresa Johnson has been in extreme pain for more than a year after what she believes was a severe allergic reaction to iodine. Her Medi-Cal plan approved her referral to a specialist, but it took her numerous phone calls, multiple complaints, and several months to book an appointment.
Many women, especially Black women, have reported discrimination in maternity care, but expectant mothers lack tools to see where this happens. Funding and regulations to measure disparities have been slow in arriving, but some innovators are trying to fill the void.
Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.
As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.
Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.
Americans think losing their eyesight would be one of the worst possible health outcomes, yet millions lack a fundamental understanding of eye health.
In Orange County, California, officials are threading a delicate needle. They want to persuade people with psychosis to accept treatment without coercion as the state’s new CARE Courts roll out in October.
A sweeping agreement approved by state lawmakers would gradually raise the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of health workers to a nation-leading $25 an hour. The pact would also end labor’s years-long battle with dialysis clinics.
The California Legislature greenlighted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest plan to build more housing and increase addiction treatment as part of his response to the state’s homelessness and drug crises.
