Posts Tagged: COVID-19
Opinion
OPINION: Millions of low-income Californians are about to have their prescription drug benefit change on January 1, 2021. Yet, you probably have not heard much about it. On his first day in office, Gov. Newsom proposed several bold initiatives to contain the cost of prescription drug prices, including “Medi-Cal Rx”, a change in how the state administers the prescription drug benefit for the nearly 11 million Medi-Cal enrollees who get their coverage through a health plan.
News
Nearly every morning for the last 12 years, San Francisco native Eva Holman has walked Baker Beach and collected trash. Located near the mouth of the Golden Gate, Baker is the iconic beach where the Golden Gate Bridge’s graceful red arc has provided the dramatic background for innumerable iconic photographs. Holman grew up nearby, and she lives so close to Baker Beach now that it’s essentially her backyard.
Opinion
OPINION: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has placed the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) back in the headlines because the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in November in a case, California v. Texas, that seeks to repeal it. The widely publicized prospect of eliminating health care coverage for more than 20 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic should be enough to give our elected leaders and the high court pause.
Podcast
This week we posted four special editions of the Capitol Weekly Podcast, broadcasting the content from our September 17 conference on health care in the Golden State. We focused this year on the unprecedented public health emergency: COVID-19. Exactly six months and one day after the first Shelter-in-Place order, we examined the response to the crisis and looked at what comes next.
Opinion
OPINION: The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on public health, a toll that extends well beyond those who have been infected by the virus. Nearly all of us have experienced or witnessed the effects: increased stress, heightened anxiety, at least a bit of depression. These conditions are to be expected given the isolation and disruption of our daily lives.
News
The atmospherics surrounding the Top 100 list vary slightly from year to year, but they usually stem from such things as elections, retirements, hires, campaign staffing, bureaucratic shuffling, news stories and who’s doing what to whom. Normally, we set up interviews in coffee shops or, better yet, taverns, and pick the brains of people who know the Capitol. Not this year.
News
Jasmine Obra believed that if it wasn’t for her brother Joshua, she wouldn’t exist. When 7-year-old Josh realized that his parents weren’t going to live forever, he asked for a sibling so he would never be alone. By spring 2020, at ages 29 and 21, Josh and Jasmine shared a condo in Anaheim, California, not far from Disneyland, which they both loved.
Opinion
OPINION: For over a decade, Californians have been dealing with unpredictable and confusing water surcharges. That could change if the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) votes to adopt a program recommended by the Public Advocates Office (Cal Advocates) as soon as Aug. 27.
News
Shelter-in-place has pushed consumers of varying ages to skateboarding in unprecedented numbers, creating a dramatic increase in participation and sales. Unfortunately, California’s COVID-19 regulations limiting public gatherings have also slowed the manufacturing and distribution of skateboard equipment, causing historic supply disruptions.
News
California’s most heavily populated counties are drawing the most attention as COVID-19 spikes and spreads, with Los Angeles reporting more than 140,000 cases and nearly 3,900 deaths since March. But California’s rural counties also face immense challenges. And while their populations are less dense and the infection levels lower overall than the larger counties, the available health services often are scant.
A pharmacist with a digital tablet checks prescription drugs. (Photo: i viewfinder)
