California Borrows $3.4 Billion for Medicaid Overrun as Congress Eyes Steep Cuts
By Christine Mai-Duc
Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, borrowed $3.4 billion from the state — and will likely need even more — due to higher prescription costs and increased eligibility for seniors and immigrants. The top Republican in the state Senate is demanding a hearing “so the public knows exactly where their tax dollars are going.”
Can House Republicans Cut $880 Billion Without Slashing Medicaid? It’s Likekly Impossible.
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact and Amy Sherman, PolitiFact
A Republican House resolution, which needs the Senate’s buy-in, directed a committee to propose ways to reduce the deficit by at least $880 billion over a decade. Lawmakers have taken Medicare off the table for cuts, which makes it impossible to reach $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
Daily Edition for Thursday, March 13, 2025
California Runs Short On Medi-Cal Funds: California will need to borrow $3.44 billion to close a budget gap in the state’s Medicaid program, Newsom administration officials told lawmakers Wednesday in a letter obtained by Politico. That’s the maximum amount California can borrow and will only be enough to cover bills for Medi-Cal through the end of the month, Department of Finance spokesperson H.D. Palmer separately told Politico. Read more from Politico. Keep scrolling for more on Medicaid and Medicare.
Progressives Seek Health Privacy Protections in California, But Newsom Could Balk
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
Democratic state lawmakers in California have proposed bills to protect women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to concerns that their health data could be used against them. If the measures reach his desk, Gov. Gavin Newsom could lay such legislation aside to focus on securing federal funds.
In Trump’s Team, Supplement Fans Find Kindred Spirits in Search of Better Health
By Darius Tahir
President Donald Trump’s health team has deep financial ties to the supplements industry. Now they’re poised to boost its growth and remake the government’s approach to health.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Measles Case Confirmed In LA County: Public health officials have confirmed the first case of measles in a Los Angeles County resident this year — the second infected person known to have passed through LAX in 2025. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Some CT Scans Deliver Too Much Radiation, Researchers Say. Regulators Want To Know More.
By Joanne Kenen
Unnecessarily high radiation doses in scans have been linked to cancers. Under new federal rules, doctors and imaging centers have to more closely track and report the doses of radiation that patients receive.
Sent Home To Heal, Patients Avoid Wait for Rehab Home Beds
By Felice J. Freyer
Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks — occupying beds that others need and driving up costs — because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.
Hospital Gun-Violence Prevention Programs May Be Caught in US Funding Crossfire
By Stephanie Wolf
Hospital-based violence intervention programs have operated in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. The public health approach to gun violence works, by many accounts. But recent moves by the White House are raising anxiety about the programs’ future.
