This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The latest clash between California and President Donald Trump over abortion and gender-affirming care could soon leave doctors caught between state and federal law. Under a bill that may soon pass the Legislature, California medical providers and affiliated businesses could face hefty state fines if they […]
Kristen Hwang/CalMatters
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California COVID Cases are Increasing, Again. Here’s the Latest on Boosters and More
Another COVID-19 wave is hitting California as the summer ends and kids head back to school. It’s a familiar story by now, but one that has become perhaps more confusing with time because of changing public health recommendations, new vaccine boosters and our evolving understanding of the virus. There’s no reason to panic, state epidemiologist […]
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California Needs Thousands of Nurses, but Leaders Can’t Agree on How to Fill Jobs
Ashley Hooks always planned to retire at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, where she has been a nurse for 12 years. But now, Hooks said, staffing issues are so bad and burnout so severe that she’s rethinking how she wants to spend the rest of her career. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of nurses […]
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The California Mask Mandate is Gone. Now Some Patients Fear for Their Health.
For months California disability and labor advocates have been attempting to preserve statewide masking requirements in health care settings. But with the sunset of one of the last remaining COVID-19 mandates, they say people who are the most vulnerable to severe illness now have to make an “impossible choice” — risk getting the virus at […]
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What Can California Do About Abortion Pill Ruling? Not Much
California’s Democratic lawmakers have spent the past year enacting legislation to protect abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal, but an April 7 ruling by a Texas federal judge is one thing they can’t touch. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone more than […]
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Is California Breaking Its Promise to Cut Health Care Costs?
Brian Iv works in a factory in Orange County, earning around $26 per hour. He suffers chronic pain from a lifetime of manual labor jobs and previous workplace injuries, but often treats the pain with home remedies or traditional Cambodian practices. Going to the doctor is too expensive, he said. Iv recently got a raise […]
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California to End COVID State of Emergency
California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end on Feb. 28, 2023, nearly three years after it began, officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced today. The announcement came as the new variants raise concerns of another deadly winter spike across the country and as test positivity rates stabilize in California after a nearly three-month decline. […]
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Congenital Syphilis Rates Soar Across California as Public Health Funding Dwindles
In the Central Valley, where two-thirds of the nation’s fruit and nuts are grown, the pastoral landscape masks entrenched racial and economic disparities. Life expectancy in Fresno County drops by 20 years depending on where you live, and it’s those who live in historically poor, redlined or rural neighborhoods who are most impacted by a […]
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Newsom Signs Abortion Protections into Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 12 bills Tuesday, establishing some of the strongest abortion protections in the nation — a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn federal abortion guarantees earlier this year. Collectively, the new laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians by strengthening privacy […]
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California Monkeypox Response is Bumpy, but Builds on Some Lessons from COVID
Hundreds waiting hours for a monkeypox vaccine only to be turned away. Residents taking to social media to detail struggles getting diagnosed and treated. State and local leaders demanding federal action. Emergency orders declared. At face value, these details paint the picture of a country and state in crisis, struggling to apply lessons learned from […]
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After Roe: What Happens to Abortion in California?
UPDATE: Two local rallies are planned in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling that instilled the legal right to abortion. The first takes place at 5 p.m. today at the Humboldt County Courthouse and the second on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1 […]
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Medical Malpractice Deal Could Replace Ballot Measure, Still Raise Monetary Awards
A measure slated for California’s November ballot that sought to raise the cap on medical malpractice awards could be pulled, under an agreement announced today. Instead, a bill will seek to raise the cap for a patient’s “non-economic damages,” or pain and suffering, although in a more incremental approach than the ballot measure would have. […]