Last year, 7,308 students applied to The University of California at San Francisco medical school; 149 were accepted. But only one student in next year’s class is undocumented. That’s me. It’s the first time UCSF has ever accepted an undocumented student.
OPINION: Occasionally, a patient can find the information on the individual insurer website, but the formularies are displayed differently with each plan, making it difficult to compare plans to each other. In addition, there is no way to compare out-of-pocket costs.
OPINION: The new version would impose a costly scheme to redefine community benefit standards at California’s not-for-profit hospitals, limiting consumer access to special health care services through neighborhood programs.
Smoggy air envelops downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: Shutterstock).OPINION: Despite strong efforts to ratchet down on smog and soot pollution, California still has some of the worst air quality in the nation and most urban areas in California continue to struggle with polluted air.
OPINION: New reports come out every day indicating a strong correlation between fracking and increased toxins in air and water as well as seismic activity. It is becoming clear that extreme well stimulation techniques pose threats to public health that go far beyond those associated with traditional oil and gas drilling.
A dispensary's sign on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. (Photo: Laurie Avocado)An unlikely relationship is forming between medical marijuana advocates and local peace officers. Traditionally, they have been in conflict,, but they are coming together to resolve one logistical aspect of the unregulated cannabis industry in California that deals with patient confiscation rights and evidence holding.
California Health Report: California is a land of health extremes, and to see what that means, you need only travel a few miles from the state Capitol. Placer and Yuba counties border each other about a half hour’s drive north of downtown Sacramento. Both places are largely rural. But the similarities end there.
Calpensions.com: The bill said to represent three years of talks mainly between the IRS and the Orange County system, the informal leader in the negotiations, moved out of the Assembly public employees retirement committee with no discussion.
OPINION: Rather than paying a fixed copayment, Californians whose medications are placed on specialty tiers are often forced to pay coinsurance – or a percentage of the total cost of the drugs – which can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month in out-of-pocket costs for a single medication.
Into the ballot box: A man votes in a California election. (Photo: Vepar5)Under the terms of a legal settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, Covered California is sending out registration mailers to nearly four million people who sought health insurance. The mailings, which have already begun, are the first step in an ongoing voter registration effort that will include this year’s month-long open enrollment period in the fall, when people choose new coverage plans or switch existing ones, and then continue into the future.