Category: California

Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines

The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.

New California Law Makes It Easier to Get Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse

The measure, which took effect Jan. 1, removes loopholes that made it easy for insurers to use arcane company guidelines to avoid paying for care. Patients now have an easier way to challenge those denials.

‘It’s a Minefield’: Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully on Abortion and Family Planning

President Biden vowed to reverse reproductive health restrictions enacted by President Trump. His pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra, fought the Trump efforts but must now navigate a difficult legal and political landscape.

Lessons From California Prison Where Covid ‘Spread Like Wildfire’

One California county is home to the two worst clusters of covid in prisons in the country. Ninety-four percent of Avenal State Prison’s inmates contracted the virus. Physical distancing has proved impossible in a facility housing 50% more people than it should.

New Single-Payer Bill Intensifies Newsom’s Political Peril

With the introduction of a single-payer bill Friday, a group of California Democratic lawmakers set the terms of the health care debate in the Capitol this year. The move puts Gov. Gavin Newsom in a delicate political position, threatening to alienate voters as he faces a likely recall election.

Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines

Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.

Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines

Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.

California Aims to Address the ‘Urgent’ Needs of Older Residents. But Will Its Plan Work?

State officials recently unveiled a “master plan” to address the needs of California’s rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.

Vaccines Go Mobile to Keep Seniors From Slipping Through the Cracks

A strike team of nurses and others is vaccinating Contra Costa County’s hardest-hit populations right where they live.

Schools Walk the Tightrope Between Ideal Safety and the Reality of Covid

Across the country, politics have muddied the question of when and how to reopen schools. Even though teachers continue to fear for their safety, lawmakers and parents are demanding that schools take advantage of declining infection rates to open safely and quickly.