As California cities crack down on homeless encampments in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling authorizing fines and arrests, front-line workers say such sweeps are undercutting billions in state and federal Medicaid spending meant to stabilize people’s health and get them off the streets.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.
State leaders are cutting public health spending and laying off workers hired during a pandemic-era grant boom. Public health officials say the bust will erode important advancements in the public health safety net, particularly in rural areas.
Pediatricians want to vaccinate kids, but some say they’re keeping their stockpile of covid vaccines low to avoid being stuck with costly, unwanted shots. They can’t afford to stock up on costly shots that parents don’t want.
Although public health officials recommend the newly approved covid vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, it may make more sense to wait until closer to the holiday season.
