Posts Tagged: state

News

Rebooting huge Medi-Cal system puts pressure on health plans

Photo illustration of a card identifying the recipient of Medi-Cal services. (Image: California Healthline)

When Denise Williams’ baby boy was 2 months old, she became alarmed by a rattling sound in his lungs and took him to the emergency room. While undergoing treatment, he spiraled into a disabling neurological disorder.

Opinion

When It comes to wildlife crossings, California must catch up

A mule deer with sunflowera in a mountain meadow. (Photo: Tom Reichner, via Shutterstock)

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.

Opinion

Offshore wind energy critical to reach clean power goals

An array of offshore wind turbines at sunset. (Photo: TebNad, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Offshore wind energy in California would create quality jobs. Legislators should put the state on a path to development. In California, we know that building a clean energy economy means high-quality blue-collar jobs.

News

State gives $51 million to college students for stem cell research

Berkeley City College, which received a portion of $51 million in state stem cell research grants. (Photo: berkeleyside.org)

The California stem cell agency has awarded $51 million to help train students in the art of research at the Golden State’s community colleges and universities. All 15 applicants for awards that ran as high as $3.6 million each were approved, including Berkeley City College, which was initially rejected by anonymous reviewers who met privately prior to the ratification of their decisions by the agency’s directors.

News

‘Laura’s Law’ okayed in 30 counties — a major statewide turnaround

Nick and Amanda Wilcox of Penn Valley with a portrait of their daughter Laura, whose murder inspired "Laura's Law." (Photo, Laura Mahaffy, The Union)

In a significant policy shift spanning nearly two decades, 30 counties in California – including all of the larger counties with an estimated 80 percent of the state’s population – have now adopted a 2002 state law giving families a legal avenue to get severely mentally ill relatives into treatment.

Opinion

Pro-recall forces seek to cancel California’s progress

Demonstrators in Beverly Hills advocating the recall of Gov., Newsom. (Photo: MSPhotographic, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Will an embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom be able to persuade voters that he deserves to stay? Will an ambitious Democrat break party ranks and seek to position themselves as an alternative to Newsom? Will the election devolve into the cacophonous circus that we saw during the recall of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003?

Opinion

A battle against unfairness in education funding

Students in a classroom receiving instruction, pre-pandemic. (Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Over the past year, the need for equity has risen to the forefront of public discourse. As calls for racial equity and health equity have rightfully become more prominent, unfortunately education equity has shifted in the wrong direction. One of the most egregious acts of education inequity is seen in the fine print of AB 1316.

Opinion

State must keep Medi-Cal funding for phone appointments

A physician uses his cell phone for a medical discussion. (Photo: apr.org)

OPINION: The mother on the other end of the phone call was worried about her newborn’s increased fussiness and stomach issues.  After taking a thorough history, the problem became clear: The mother had switched from breastmilk to a formula that triggered symptoms related to the baby’s known history of milk protein allergy. I advised a switch to a hydrolyzed formula.

News

A cell phone tale: How COVID changed our movement

The impact of the pandemic is seen in San Diego's Mission Valley, normally crowded with traffic. ((Photo: Travelling Thilo, via Shutterstock)

For all of our grousing about COVID-19 fatigue, a few novel trends are clear one year into the pandemic. In the early weeks of 2021, Californians are staying home way more than we did in our pre-pandemic life. Even so, we’re heading out to shop, dine and work far more now than in March 2020, when state officials issued the first sweeping stay-at-home order, or the dark period that followed the winter holidays, when we hunkered down as coronavirus caseloads exploded.

Opinion

Revamping ‘rebate wall’ could save billions in drug costs

Drugs arranged on shelves at a pharmacy. (Photo: SEE_JAY, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California can once again be a national leader in pushing for cost-savings reforms in the healthcare field by being the first in the nation to address the practice of rebate policies that can bring balance and competition back to the pharmaceutical marketplace, which will help drive down drug costs and improve patient care. This policy challenge is called a rebate wall.

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