Health

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers reached a final budget deal last week that largely relies on AI revenue projections and new taxes to delay social service cuts and shrink future deficits.

Hospitals and a healthcare union have agreed to pull rival initiatives from the ballot, but a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires remains headed to November voters.

Ahead of a Thursday deadline, California Democrats are striking deals with interest groups to kick controversial measures off the November ballot. They are also finalizing a pair of ballot measures to fund affordable housing and allow the state to save more money in financially good years

A balance act: To help fund the safety net, lawmakers have voted through a health tax extension that could increase premium costs for Californians with private insurance

A California union wants to tax billionaires to fund healthcare. The initiative has drawn fierce opposition from Newsom and Silicon Valley moguls.

Gov. Gavin Newsom gave condemned prisoners a chance to live differently when he suspended the death penalty. They aren't free and many will never be released, but now they have opportunities to grow.

Mental health professionals at Kaiser are raising concerns about an artificial intelligence tool that records medical appointments, saying it should have more safeguards.

L.A. County voters are poised to approve Measure ER, a half-cent sales tax. A similar measure in Contra Costa is far behind. Santa Clara voters were the first to approve such a sales tax. It’s still not enough to fill the hole left by federal health cuts.

"Everyone is going through something," one California teen said about the prevalence of mental health concerns among his peers. Youth advocates are urging the state to expand access to treatment.

When Jazelle Eastman was 16 she was shot in the face by a boy she thought was a friend. She doesn’t remember feeling much, but next thing she knew there was blood dripping from her chin.  That was two years ago. She still has a hard time trusting people. “PTSD is so real, I feel […]