Latest News On California Legislature

Latest California Healthline Stories

Journalists Talk Madera Hospital Bankruptcy Woes and Savings for Covered California Enrollees

California Healthline senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson and Fresno Bee reporter Melissa Montalvo discuss community efforts to save a bankrupt hospital from liquidation. California Healthline contributing radio correspondent Stephanie O’Neill Patison reports how lawmakers won additional Covered California subsidies.

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.

Gov. Newsom Wanted California to Cut Ties With Walgreens. Then Federal Law Got in the Way.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California would cut ties with Walgreens after the company said it would not distribute abortion pills in some states. But federal rules make it difficult for the state to unwind its Medicaid prescription drug agreement, which paid Walgreens $1.5 billion last year.

GOP Lawmaker Calls for Tracking Homeless Spending, Working With Dems on Mental Health

Republican state Sen. Roger Niello wants to know whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth before spending more. Yet the fiscal conservative from the suburbs of Sacramento sees opportunities for bipartisanship on mental health.

Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent

Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues it’s cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.