Posts Tagged: 14 million

News

Ban on building gas stations is emerging as new policy goal

An old gas station along Route 66 with a 1957 Corvette parked in front. (Photo: Andrey Bayda, via Shutterstock)

In March 2021, Petaluma became the first community in America to permanently ban the construction of new gas stations. For a nation that has been ruled by automobiles for the last century, banning gas stations seems a bold, if self-destructive, move on the surface.

News

Rebooting huge Medi-Cal system puts pressure on health plans

Photo illustration of a card identifying the recipient of Medi-Cal services. (Image: California Healthline)

When Denise Williams’ baby boy was 2 months old, she became alarmed by a rattling sound in his lungs and took him to the emergency room. While undergoing treatment, he spiraled into a disabling neurological disorder.

News

Money crunch at stem cell agency

A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)

California’s stem cell agency gave away $14 million this month, which could be described as less than a drop in its $3 billion bucket. But the talk at the agency’s awards meeting July 19 was not about largess. Instead it was about the lack of cash, lack of time and the need to split “babies” and “buckets.”

Opinion

Urgent: Protect mental health services

A depressed man sits alone on a park bench. (Photo: Mikael Damkier)

OPINION: Nearly two decades ago, California raised the bar for our state’s wellness by requiring insurers to equally cover services for both physical and mental health conditions. Now a national standard, California’s groundbreaking Mental Health Parity law was among the first to recognize how grave inequities in the form of higher co-pays or fewer allowable visits diminish wellness and productivity.

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