Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Medi-Cal Under Threat: Who’s Covered and What Could Be Cut?

Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than what’s required. Budget pressures may force lawmakers to cut benefits that have led to a historic low in the uninsured rate.

California Halts Medical Parole, Sends Several Critically Ill Patients Back to Prison

California has unilaterally halted a court-ordered medical parole program. Instead, it’s sending its most incapacitated prisoners back to state lockups or releasing them early. The change is drawing protests from attorneys representing prisoners and the author of the medical parole law, who argue prisoners’ health may be compromised.

Fate of Black Maternal Health Programs Is Unclear Amid Federal Cuts

In California, Black women are at least three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. Santa Clara County initiatives aimed at reducing racial disparities work but depend on federal dollars — money that might not flow amid budget cuts and a push to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

More Psych Hospital Beds Are Needed for Kids, but Neighbors Say Not Here

Amid a youth mental health crisis and a shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds, residents of a St. Louis suburb opposed a plan to build a 77-bed pediatric mental health hospital. Resistance to such facilities has occurred in other communities as misconceptions about mental health spur fear.

Families of Transgender Youth No Longer View Colorado as a Haven for Gender-Affirming Care

Colorado was long considered a haven for gender-affirming care. But under this Trump administration, hospitals in the state have limited the treatments available for people under 19. Some services have been restored, but trans youth and their families say the state isn’t the rock they thought it was.

Tácticas migratorias de Trump obstaculizan esfuerzos para evitar una pandemia de gripe aviar, dicen investigadores

Las agresivas tácticas de deportación han aterrorizado a los trabajadores agrícolas, que son el centro de la estrategia nacional contra la gripe aviar, según afirman trabajadores de salud pública. Los trabajadores de las industrias láctea y avícola han representado la mayoría de los casos de gripe aviar en el país, y prevenir y detectar los […]

Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge

Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.