The Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Diego, a 617,000-square foot facility. (Photo: Roaming Panda Photos)OPINION: In giving private health care giant Kaiser Permanente a broad, no-bid Medi-Cal contract that is light on detail, the state could unwind over 40 years of locally driven health care coordination and collaboration for the most vulnerable among us.
A photo illustration of two aspects of age -- false teeth and glasses. (Image: Arrfoto, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Strengthening Medicare by adding dental benefits could help more than 4.5 million in California; the largest number of Medicare beneficiaries of any state. Most seniors are surprised to learn that when they retire and begin to rely on Medicare for their health coverage, they are left without oral health care. In fact, of the 60 million Medicare beneficiaries, more than two-thirds don’t have any dental coverage at all.
A brush fire approaches residences in Pacific Palisades in May, 2021. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As hints of fall weather begin, California residents remain mindful that the risks from Diablo and Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires are still to come. Unfortunately, with California’s riskiest months still approaching, consumers in 2021 must also be aware of a new threat in wildfire planning.
A digital expert checks high-speed broadband connections at numerous servers. (Photo: Gorodenkoff, via Shutterstock)OPINION: When life went online in March 2020 due to pandemic stay-at-home orders, ensuring access to high-speed broadband service quickly became one of our state’s highest priorities. Now, nearly a year later, task forces have been assembled, executive orders have been issued and the Legislature faces a flurry of new broadband bills with a dizzying array of both new and old proposed solutions.
Homeowners watch the billowing smoke of the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As currently amended —after months of compromise and negotiations— this bill would create a new Insurance Market Action Plan, or IMAP, designed to increase home insurance availability with better coverage and lower rates, and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire damage through home hardening and community mitigation. For many homeowners in high-risk areas, the FAIR Plan is currently the only option for fire insurance.
A dialysis machine at work. (Photo:Aleksandr Ivasenko, via Shutterstock)Kidney dialysis may sound like an odd topic for a California ballot proposition, but voters will tangle with the issue on Nov. 3 — for the second time.The basic fight over Proposition 23 is between organized labor, which favors the initiative, and the dialysis clinic industry, which is opposed. Surrounding the debate are questions of medical care quality, clinic staffing, access, and costs.
A business in Los Angeles that was forced to close because of the pandemic. (Photo: Lando Aviles, via Shutterstock)With no compromise in sight, at appears the debate over business interruption insurance coverage will be solved by litigation, not legislation. At issue are thousands of businesses around California with insurance policies to protect them against a sudden catastrophic event that forces them to close down for an extended period of time.
Hundreds of people advocating for improved health care rally outside San Francisco City Hall, 2017. (Photo: Kim Wilson, via Shutterstock)As a physician in California, I am so grateful to see preserving people’s access to health care at the top of our state’s New Year’s resolution list. Although a federal judge in Texas has ruled the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional (in a state where five million people could be directly affected, no
Doctors and their patient in a California hospital. (Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Shutterstock) OPINION: While Washington’s changes to the Affordable Care Act and calls for a radical upheaval of our health care system may have you confused about the state of health care in California, make no mistake — our state’s system is strong and getting stronger.
A child has her ear inspected by a doctor using an otoscope. (Photo: Andrew_Popov)Health insurance coverage for 1.3 million California children and pregnant women is at risk because of Congress’ delay in extending the Children’s Health Insurance Program. While the House recently approved a bill to extend the program for five years, the bill still needs approval by the Senate and a fight is expected about how to pay for the extension.