A medical practitioner checks the blood pressure on an older patient. (Photo: Alexander Raths, via Shutterstock)As California contends with a shortage of primary care doctors, some legislators are pushing to have nurse practitioners fill in the gaps. Assembly Bill 890, which is now headed to the Senate, would remove the requirement that nurse practitioners practice under a physician’s supervision.
Drugs on a shelf for sale at a pharmacy. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With the rising cost of health care at forefront of nearly every Californian’s mind, lawmakers in Sacramento are rightly considering a range of potential policy proposals to help rein in costs. In 2018, legislators took positive initial steps to regulate some of the egregious business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – little-known middlemen in the health care system who have contributed to rising costs.
A billboard urging approval for SB 50 in Santa Clara. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)Moments after the state Senate failed to pass SB 50, a bill that would have relaxed zoning laws to combat the state’s housing crisis, Senate Leader Toni Atkins vowed to pass housing legislation this year. But after three attempts — and three failures — to get SB 50 to the governor’s desk, the outlook rains uncertain.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at a rally in Ventura County during his 2016 run for president. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock.The final Capitol Weekly tracking poll is out. And it is finishing off with a bang. Last month’s leader in California’s Democratic presidential primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is extending his lead, now up to 29%. The surge is seemingly drawing straight out of Massachusetts Sen.Elizabeth Warren who drops to 16%, just above the all-important 15% threshold.
Image of an inmate behind bars. Illustration: PhoelixDE, via Shutterstock)Mental illness cases in California jails have significantly increased since 2009, health policy experts reported Thursday. California Health Policy Strategies, a Sacramento-based consulting group, gathered administrative data from the Board of State and Community Corrections and discovered a 42 % increase in mental health cases reported and an 80 % increase in inmate medication prescriptions over the last 10 years.
An older man jogs up a desert mountain peak in California. (Photo: Sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)OPINION:“OK Boomer” has gained popularity as a sarcastic refrain, but if millennials and all other generations fail to take baby boomers seriously, we will all share in the consequences. The 2020s will be the decade of the baby boomer.
In the wake of the Iowa Caucus debacle, the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire Primary takes on added significance in a presidential primary race that appears to have blown wide open. Veteran California political consultant Steve Maviglio is from the Granite State – and served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
An aerial view of a residential neighborhood in San Francisco. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: There is general agreement that California remains in a housing affordability crisis that is hitting the state’s working families extremely hard, forcing long polluting commutes and causing spiraling rates of homelessness. But opinions differ markedly on the appropriate response to the increasingly dire situation.INI
Zoe Friedland and her husband, Bert Kaufman (Photo courtesy of Bert Kaufman)After Zoe Friedland became pregnant with her first child, she was picky about choosing a doctor to guide her through delivery. “With so many unpredictable things that can happen with a pregnancy, I wanted someone I could trust,” Friedland said.
The entrance to Frank Fat's on L Street. (Photo: Frank Fat's)Standing only about 5 feet 2 inches tall, Frank Fat left a big impression with everyone who knew him. Arriving in America as a teen-ager, the Chinese immigrant opened a chain of restaurants in the Sacramento area, was active in community causes and built strong relations with everyone from politicians to ordinary citizens.This year, his flagship restaurant Frank Fat’s in downtown Sacramento two blocks from the Capitol, is celebrating its 80th anniversary.