California will cover doula services for low-income residents at more than twice the state’s initial proposed rate under a spending plan lawmakers passed last week. Some advocates welcomed the new benefit in Medi-Cal, the ... [Continue Reading]
Sobering Lessons in Untying the Knot of a Homeless Crisis
PORTLAND, Ore. — Michelle Farris never expected to become homeless, but here she was, sifting through garbage and towering piles of debris accumulated along a roadway on the outskirts of Northeast Portland. Farris, 51, has spent much of her adult ... [Continue Reading]
Lawmaker Takes on Insurance Companies and Gets Personal About His Health
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Wiener made a startling revelation at a spring legislative committee hearing: “I was in the hospital. I experienced the most intense abdominal pain that I could even imagine.” The Democratic ... [Continue Reading]
California Wants to Slash Insulin Prices by Becoming a Drugmaker. Can it Succeed?
SACRAMENTO — California is diving into the prescription drug business, attempting to achieve what no other state has done: produce its own brand of generic insulin and sell it at below-market prices to people with diabetes like Sabrina Caudillo. ... [Continue Reading]
Politics and Pandemic Fatigue Doom California’s Covid Vaccine Mandates
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In January, progressive California Democrats vowed to adopt the toughest covid vaccine requirements in the country. Their proposals would have required most Californians to get the shots to go to school or work — without allowing ... [Continue Reading]