Posts Tagged: health

Opinion

Addressing the opioid crisis: a call to action for California’s veterans

Image by tab62

OPINION – The opioid epidemic in California is an urgent matter that requires immediate action, particularly with regards to its effects on veterans and their families. It is time for lawmakers in Sacramento to take decisive action and stand up for our veterans in their time of need. We need leaders – policymakers who will lead by example and influence – to optimize better treatment methods for our veterans and help tackle an untapped salient issue, long overdue.

Opinion

Medi-Cal expansion leads the way in health care access for all

Image by MMD Creative

OPINION – CHCs and primary care physicians have long served as a safety net for communities of color. For far too long, our physicians, nurses and staff have witnessed the devastating challenges our patients face to access regular care for chronic health conditions, finding specialty care doctors who accept Medi-Cal, and accessing affordable medications. 

Opinion

Patients suffer at hands of insurance companies

Image by uphaksorn Thongwongboot

OPINION – There is a brewing crisis in Orange County, one where the most vulnerable — seniors with disabilities, single mothers, families living below the poverty line — have lost access to vital health care services. The focus for all involved right now must be on patients — those who are facing upheaval, worse health outcomes, farther distances to travel for care, and a much greater burden on their families. For these vulnerable Californians, their worst fears have come true.

News

Passing ‘grave disability’ reform was hard – getting counties to implement it has been harder

Image by Laura Faraci, Shutterstock

Long ignored or blocked by local officials and confusing laws – while tacitly expected to provide care for severely mentally ill relatives – families are mobilizing in growing numbers, exerting major influence over state legislation and public policy, and protesting county resistance to strong new laws mandating intervention, care and treatment.

Opinion

California must not backtrack on COVID safety net

Image by Maliutina Anna

OPINION – Families across California experienced a decline in violence and poverty in the wake of COVID-19, but according to the Public Policy Institute of California, the rate of poverty has since grown from 11.7% in 2021 to 13.2% in 2023.

News

Shifting politics pushes mental health care onto the agenda

Laura Wilcox, whose shooting death in Nevada County inspired "Laura's Law." (Family photo)

Ever since Ronald Reagan signed the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act in 1967 granting people with severe mental illness greater rights and speeding the emptying of state asylums, governors have been sidestepping the issue, until now. Unlike governors before him in this state or perhaps any other, Newsom is confronting the issue of untreated mental illness.

Opinion

Major victory in the fight against diabetes complications

Constant glucose monitoring, image by russellleephoto

OPINION – New guidelines issued today by the state’s Department of Health Care Services will increase access to essential medical devices called continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). With more than 10% of the population in California living with diabetes, 29% of which are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 22% American Indian and Alaska Native, the new policy for CGM access is not just a win for people living with diabetes but a win for our entire healthcare system.

Opinion

California should mandate climate change education now

Climate education, image by Lightspring

OPINION – People need to be convinced that a future in which their cars, houses, stoves, and garden equipment run on electricity – and that they will need to live sustainably – will not mean a decline in their quality of life. That’s why California should mandate climate change education in grades K-12 right now.

Opinion

California can help men afford prostate cancer screening

PSA testing, image by angellodeco

OPINION – In California, an estimated 26,970 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. AB 632, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, will allow more men to receive prostate cancer screenings without the worry of excessive healthcare expenses.

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