Journalists Unpack Patchwork Vaccine Rollout, Rapid Covid Tests and More
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Newsom’s Big Promises on Drug Prices Are Slow to Materialize
By Angela Hart and Rachel Bluth and Samantha Young
Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched several initiatives to cut rising drug prices, but the savings haven’t been as monumental as he promised. And his plan to have California make its own generic drugs hasn’t gotten off the ground.
Lawmakers Pressure Newsom to ‘Step Up’ on Racism as a Public Health Issue
By Angela Hart
California Democratic lawmakers are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to approve $100 million per year to fund programs that address health inequality and structural racism.
From Racial Justice to Dirty Air, California’s New AG Plots a Progressive Health Care Agenda
By Angela Hart
In a candid interview, California’s newly appointed attorney general, Rob Bonta, reflects on his progressive roots and says he will pursue a health care agenda centered on the principle that quality medical care is a right, not a privilege.
Health Industry Wields Power in California’s High-Stakes Battle to Lower Health Care Costs
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to regulate out-of-control health care spending in California. The effort is being shaped by the very health industry players that would be regulated.
Despite Pandemic, Newsom Declines to Boost Local Public Health Budgets — Again
By Angela Hart
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has, for the third consecutive year, rejected new state funding for local public health departments. Frustrated legislative leaders and public health officials are trying to change his mind.
Newsom’s Record on Covid Is Both an Advantage and Liability in Tight Recall Race
By Rachel Bluth and Samantha Young and Heidi de Marco and Angela Hart
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic policies are effectively on California’s Sept. 14 recall ballot — and the electorate views them with a mix of resentment, gratitude and disillusionment.
How Newsom’s Reliance on Big Tech in Pandemic Undermines Public Health System
By Angela Hart
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has outsourced his way through the covid-19 pandemic, tasking his private-sector allies in Silicon Valley and the health care industry with fundamental public health duties such as testing, tracing and vaccination. Among the losers: the state’s weakened public health system.
State Inks Sweetheart Deal With Kaiser Permanente, Jeopardizing Medicaid Reforms
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Angela Hart and Samantha Young
The backroom deal with politically connected Kaiser Permanente, which infuriated other Medi-Cal health plans, allows the health care giant to continue selecting the enrollees it wants.
‘Go Ahead and Vote Me Out’: What Other Places Can Learn From Santa Rosa’s Tent City
By Angela Hart
As cities across California wrestle with a crisis of homelessness that has drawn international condemnation, Santa Rosa’s bold experiment with a city-sanctioned encampment suggests a way forward.
