San Francisco Marriott hotel employees picketing in October in support of better wages, benefits. (Photo: 1000Photography, via Shutterstock)California labor confronted major challenges last year but responded with frenetic organizing and a newfound aggressiveness—momentum unions hope to maintain in 2019. As 2018 opened, California had 2.49 million union members, roughly 15.5 percent of the state’s official working population
A voter prepares to make a choice on the ballot. (Photo: Svanblar, via Shutterstock)California voters are being asked to approve $16.4 billion in bond financing, cut taxes and weigh in on such diverse topics as kidney dialysis prices and farm animal living conditions in the Nov. 6 election. The 11 initiatives on the ballots include requests for bond financing for housing, water and children’s hospitals. Other initiatives would approve huge property tax savings for seniors, repeal the controversial gas tax hike and open the way to expand rent control. In the long tradition of California ballot propositions, fights over the initiatives have prompted record spending.
A sweeping new California Supreme Court ruling restricting who is an independent contractor is shaking up an exceptionally diverse range of industries. The ruling, issued in April, affects an estimated 2 million independent contractors working in healthcare, beauty salons, gig economy jobs like Uber and Lyft, journalism, music, real estate, education, financial planning, agriculture, construction, technology, insurance, transportation and more
A woman shops for medications in a pharmacy. (Photo: Tyler Olson, via ShutterstockOPINION: Mark Twain once proclaimed, “The government of my country snubs honest simplicity, but fondles artistic villainy, and I think I might have developed into a very capable pickpocket if I had remained in the public service a year or two.” These humorous words may elicit a smile, but clearly ring true more than a century later, and most certainly apply to the 340B drug discount program.
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. (Photo: Wikipedia)East Bay lawmakers are pushing a bill to stop Sutter Health from shuttering its Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley — a measure with major statewide implications. The bill was prompted by issues surrounding Alta Bates, but it would apply to any emergency rooms across California run by nonprofits.
A hospital hallway and emergency room. (VILevi, via Shutterstock)OPINION: AB 1250 would jeopardize access to care for millions of Californians by scrambling the current system, burying hospitals with new bureaucratic mandates, blizzards of paperwork and unnecessary red tape. Hospitals would be forced to divert limited financial and human resources from their mission of caring for patients.
Doctors and nurses guide a young patient on a gurney down a hospital corridor. (Photo: Spotmatik LTD, via Shutterstock)Billions of dollars for California’s health care system serving 13 million poor and young people would be slashed dramatically under a GOP-backed proposal in Congress supported by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans.
Gov. Brown speaking against Proposition 53. (Screen shot via YoutubeANALYSIS: An independent look at the measure by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and an examination by the state’s treasurer, describe some scenarios that agree with Brown’s point. But the governor ignores the LAO’s argument that there could conceivably be some costs savings, particularly if Prop 53 forces the state to make better use of existing infrastructure.
California doctor, a photo illustration. (Niyazz, via Shutterstock)Medi-Cal is a deeply misunderstood program. It spends a lot of money, but it’s most certainly not out of control, and it is not a welfare program. The truth is that Medi-Cal is one of the state’s most cost-effective programs, serving more than one-third of Californians and half of all California children.
Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, Calif. Photo: nursesinternet.comHackers have attacked two more Southern California hospitals and federal authorities are investigating the case, according to the hospitals’ parent company. Prime Healthcare Services Inc., a fast-growing national hospital chain, said a malware attack disrupted computer servers at two of its California hospitals, Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino and Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville.