Posts Tagged: expensive
News
Odds are, in coming months you’ll become keenly aware that sportsbook operators and gaming tribes are waging a high-stakes ballot battle for control of sport gambling in California, and you may well get sick of it. That’s because both sides have $100 million war chests, ready to deliver their messages on every imaginable platform.
Opinion
OPINION: Roads and development create massive barriers for wildlife. Mountain lions, desert tortoises, California tiger salamanders and many other creatures have watched their home turf shrink. Building or upgrading wildlife crossings and preserving existing habitat can go a long way toward saving the state’s most imperiled species.
News
What might President Biden’s colossal proposal to address the nation’s crumbling infrastructure mean to California? Admittedly, the $2 trillion fix is a long way from becoming reality. It’s still in the House, and Senate passage as the bill is written is a big “if.”
Opinion
OPINION: Earlier this month, the nation’s largest system of higher education, the California Community Colleges, reported that it had met a key goal of increasing by 20 percent the number of students who earn college credentials. While this is impressive, there is more work ahead to meet the remaining goals that are focused on closing achievement gaps for students of color and for students living in poorer regions of the state.
Opinion
OPINION: Imagine if a government agency required nurses to endure the same costly and lengthy training as surgeons. Such overreach would result in fewer nurses and the demand for such skilled labor would reach a crisis. While this extraordinary overreach is not occurring in the health care industry, it is when it comes to California’s regulation of the scrap metal recycling industry.
Opinion
OPINION: While there are many causes that have contributed to the state’s housing shortage, many people place at least part of the blame on a “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) philosophy. Everyone knows that more housing is needed, but they’d prefer that it was somewhere else.
News
California today became the first state in the nation to launch itself into the sizzling field of gene therapy, backed by tens of millions of dollars and with the hope of creating treatments that could permanently cure afflictions ranging from hemophilia to cancer.
Recent News
The Madera patient says he likes his Kaiser doctor and has no desire to switch to publicly funded Medicare, even though he qualifies. But if Senate Bill 1156 is approved, Adames likely wouldn’t get that choice. The bill would require that patients like him receiving third-party assistance would either need to enroll in Medicare or Medi-Cal (for those who are low income), or if they choose to stay on private insurance, they will only receive reimbursement at Medicare or Medi-Cal’s much lower rates.
News
The housing crisis — “debacle” might be a better way of putting it — has no quick or easy solution. For decades, housing production has not kept up with population growth in California, leaving Californians to struggle with soaring bills, longer commutes and more people living under one roof.
Opinion
OPINION: Economist Noreena Hertz once said “We typically focus on anything that agrees with the outcome we want.” And certainly SB 790’s desired outcome – limiting any overprescription of more expensive drugs – seems to be what we – including myself – “want.” Unfortunately, the strict limits on “gifts” to providers from pharmaceutical manufacturers that it would impose seem a “solution in search of a problem.”
Photo illustration of gambler using cell phone to place bets. (Image: WPadington, via Shutterstock)
