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.
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.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Judicial Body Blow to the ACA
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law’s main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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.
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.
‘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.
Pregnancy Care Was Always Lacking in Jails. It Could Get Worse.
By Renuka Rayasam
A lack of oversight and standards for pregnancy care in jails is becoming more problematic as the number of incarcerated women rises and abortion restrictions put medical care further out of reach.
Journalists Explore Inefficiency and Inequities of Vaccine Rollout
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.
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.
