Leader of California’s Muscular Obamacare Exchange to Step Down
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Angela Hart
Peter Lee helped create Covered California, which has been lauded as a national example among the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and he fiercely opposed Republican efforts to repeal the federal health reform law.
Newsom Wants to Spend Millions on the Health of Low-Income Mothers and Their Babies
By Anna Almendrala
Democratic legislators back measures that would end the “pink tax” on diapers and menstrual products, provide mental health support, and pilot a guaranteed-income program.
KHN on the Air This Week
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.
Vaccination Chaos Fuels Push to Recall Newsom
By Angela Hart
The growing public backlash over California’s messy vaccine rollout is putting immense pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a Republican-driven recall effort.
KHN on the Air This Week
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.
KHN on the Air This Week
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.
California’s Reboot of Troubled Medi-Cal Puts Pressure on Health Plans
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Photos by Heidi de Marco
The nine commercial insurers in Medi-Cal must reapply by submitting bids for new contracts. The state hopes the process will improve care for low-income residents and tighten accountability, something critics say has been missing.
Newsom Says His Budget Reflects ‘Pandemic-Induced Reality’
By Angela Hart
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state’s vaccination effort. But he didn’t propose more funding for the state’s 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
California’s COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations
By Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in July that California would target businesses that flagrantly violate public health orders. But the state’s strategy of education over enforcement means that businesses that don’t comply face few — if any — consequences.
California Lawmakers to Newsom: Give All Immigrants Health Coverage
By Angela Hart
Given the pandemic’s disproportionate hit on minority communities, two Democratic lawmakers are pushing Newsom to agree to offer health care to all unauthorized immigrants. They planned to unveil legislation Monday — and a new strategy to make it happen.
