Easy-breezy guest writer Rachel Bluth fills you in on a healthy dose of news from this past week.
California AG Seeks More Power To Battle Merger-Hungry Health Care Chains
Xavier Becerra has made battling health care consolidation a priority since he became attorney general. Now that COVID-19 threatens vulnerable health care practices, he’s pushing to expand his authority to slow health care mergers.
Another Coronavirus Casualty: California’s Budget
Before the coronavirus hit, California was looking at a budget surplus of more than $5 billion and lawmakers were debating how to increase the size of government health programs. Now, the state faces a deficit, program cuts, high unemployment — and no significant investment in public health funding at a time when the state needs it the most.
Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots
It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.
California Shies Away From Calls To Eliminate Restrictions On Nurse Practitioners
Many states are dramatically loosening regulations on nurse practitioners as the coronavirus pandemic increases demand for health care workers. But not California.
Medicaid Nearing ‘Eye Of The Storm’ As Newly Unemployed Look For Coverage
The coronavirus outbreak has forced millions of Americans — including more than 1.6 million Californians — out of work. The federal-state health program for low-income people could face unprecedented strains as many states don’t necessarily have the resources or systems in place to meet the demand.
Medicaid en el “ojo de la tormenta” por nuevos desempleados que buscan cobertura
Con más desempleados aplicando para seguro médico, Medicaid podría colapsar A medida que el coronavirus agita la economía y deja a millones de estadounidenses sin trabajo, Medicaid surge como el plan de salud obvio para muchos de los nuevos desempleados. Eso podría generar tensiones sin precedentes en este vital programa, según funcionarios estatales y analistas. […]
Is The Bay Area’s ‘Unprecedented’ Lockdown The First Of Many?
About 7 million people across the San Francisco Bay Area began to “shelter in place” Tuesday to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Although public health officials acknowledged the orders were drastic, they also agreed they were necessary.
The High Cost Of Being Trump’s Enemy
The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and California’s Democratic leaders is costing the Golden State hundreds of millions of health care dollars — with billions more at stake.
New California Coronavirus Case Reveals Problems with U.S. Testing Protocols
Disease experts say a new coronavirus case in California underscores the need for more widespread community testing for the illness, as well as problems caused by the delays in getting functional coronavirus test kits to state and local public health agencies.