Salud

Silhouette of a person standing at a railing looking out into a bay with boats and the skyline of buildings in the background. The run is shining down, reflecting in the bay and creating shadows on the person and ships around the frame.

Salud mental

Listen: What happens when Californians with mental illness refuse to be treated?

One of Gov. Newsom's signature mental health programs was meant to bring treatment to people who refused it. So far, it's helping fewer Californians than many hoped.

Por

Julie Wernau

y

Dan Gorenstein

• febrero 5, 2026

A person holds up a blue sign that reads "protect trans youth" as they stand next to other protesters in front of a hospital building.

Salud

Parents of trans kids ask: Does California really protect our rights?

The Unruh Civil Rights Act provides the fundamental protection for equal access to health care regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, experts say. The state has not acted to uphold those protections, transgender rights groups claim.

Por

kristen hwang

• febrero 4, 2026

A person kneels to retrieve an item from a miniature refrigerator in the corridor of a mobile clinic trailer. The corridor features a counter and a sink, with an assortment of medical equipment and posters on the wall providing medical information.

Salud

Coalition seeks LA County sales tax vote to offset federal healthcare funding cuts

A newly formed coalition wants to bring a half-cent sales tax before Angeleno voters in June to mitigate Medi-Cal losses

Por

Ana B Ibarra

• enero 30, 2026

Tecnología

California state employees alarmed by demand to prove their citizenship or work eligibility

Close to four thousand employees of the California Department of Public Health were told they must use the federal E-Verify system to keep federal funding. Unions are pushing back.

Por

Khari Johnson

• enero 29, 2026

Salud

California mental health hospitals warn of cuts after state hands down staffing rules

Psychiatric hospitals could close beds under proposed state rules if regulators don’t allow implementation time, facilities warn.

Por

kristen hwang

• enero 28, 2026

A semi-truck drives toward a Waste Management facility entrance marked by a large sign, with rolling green hills in the background under a clear sky.

Ambiente

Residents of a polluted California town pinned hopes on new state rules. They’re still waiting

A 2015 law required the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to overhaul its permitting process to consider how multiple sources of pollution impacts health. Advocates now say the overdue rules aren’t protective enough.

Por

Alejandra Reyes Velarde

• enero 27, 2026

Three demonstrators stand in the rain holding umbrellas and a large transgender pride flag, with one person holding a sign reading “History has its eyes on you,” outside a brightly lit hospital sign at dusk.

Salud

Feds drop effort to get trans patients’ records from LA children’s hospital

Families sued to block the Justice Department's subpoena for records of young transgender patients. The agency agreed to drop its request through 2029.

Por

Ana B Ibarra

• enero 24, 2026

Política

The fight over how to pay for Medi-Cal puts pressure on Newsom to raise taxes

Newsom has already vowed to tank a proposed ballot initiative that would impose a 5% wealth tax on the state’s billionaires to bolster Medi-Cal. Progressive lawmakers and their allies in labor and health seem hopeful that Newsom could support a different long-shot funding idea.

Por

Maya C. Miller

y

Juana Kuang

• enero 15, 2026

A person stands on a cinderblock wall at dusk, pouring water downward as smoke or ash drifts through the air. Palm trees, rooftops, and silhouetted foliage are visible behind them, all bathed in an orange haze from the smoky sky.

Ambiente

L.A. wildfires: With no clear cleanup standards, how to test for toxic soil

Ash rained down and smoke blanketed Los Angeles during the 2025 wildfires, leaving behind a toxic legacy in soil and homes. Without a federal or California mandate, nonprofit, academic and local groups offer testing for homeowners.

Por

Personal de CalMatters

• enero 8, 2026

A close-up view of a child receiving a vaccine shot in their arm with their sleeve rolled up. Both the nurse and the child are wearing face masks and sitting near a table inside a make-shift clinic.

Salud

Federal cuts and reversals upend California health care in 2025

California health care was hit hard in 2025: more than three million may lose Medicaid, Covered California subsidies at risk, and the state froze enrollment for undocumented residents amid budget cuts.

Por

Ana B Ibarra

• diciembre 26, 2025