California Lawmakers Approve Nation-Leading $25 Minimum Wage for Health Workers
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.
Pain Clinic Chain to Pay $11.4M to Settle Medicare and Medi-Cal Fraud Claims
The owner of one of California’s largest chains of pain management clinics has agreed to pay California, Oregon, and the federal government to settle Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud allegations.
California Promises Better Care for Thousands of Inmates as They Leave Prison
California officials recently agreed to give new parolees a 60-day supply of their prescriptions and promised to replace lost medical equipment in the month after they’re released from prison. The state also agreed to submit Medi-Cal applications on their behalf at least 90 days before they are released.
As Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Hit the Market, Anti-Smoking Groups Press for Wider Standard
The first FDA-authorized cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than traditional smokes will go on sale in California, Florida, and Texas starting in early July. Anti-smoking groups oppose greenlighting just one plant biotech’s products and instead urge federal regulators to set a low-nicotine standard for the entire industry.
California’s Fentanyl Problem Is Getting Worse
State lawmakers have recently been debating whether and how to stiffen punishments for dealers, while Gov. Gavin Newsom is targeting fentanyl trafficking and distributing more naloxone. The problem, experts say, is one with no easy or clear answers.
Se agrava la crisis del fentanilo en California
Impulsadas en gran medida por la prevalencia del fentanilo, un opioide sintético hasta 100 veces más potente que la morfina, las sobredosis de drogas en California matan ahora a más del doble de personas que los accidentes de tráfico.
California Confronts Overdose Epidemic Among Former Prison Inmates
Individuals newly released from prison are 40 times as likely to die of opioid overdoses than members of the general population, researchers say. In response, California corrections officials aim to arm departing inmates with an antidote that can be used to reverse the effects of opioid poisoning.
California Says New Cigarettes Appear to Violate State’s Flavored Tobacco Ban
The attorney general is warning two tobacco companies, R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, that their reformulated cigarettes appear to violate the state’s ban on flavored tobacco products, based on marketing materials. R.J. Reynolds said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law.
Disability Rights Groups Sue to Overturn California’s Physician-Assisted Death Law
Disability rights advocates and two individuals with disabilities sued Tuesday to overturn the state’s physician-assisted death law, arguing it is unconstitutional, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, and makes it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with a doctor’s help.
Presentan demanda para revocar ley de muerte asistida en California
La ley original de California, que permite a los adultos con enfermedades terminales obtener recetas para medicamentos que pongan fin a su vida, se aprobó en 2016.