Health

About 4 in 10 Californians are carrying medical debt. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent that debt from affecting credit scores

Birth centers are popular options for families who want to deliver a baby outside of a hospital. Nineteen of them closed in California in the past decade, deepening the state's maternity care crisis.

Kamala Harris has a long record of supporting abortion rights in California. In one case, she launched an investigation into an anti-abortion group that published secretly recorded interviews with Planned Parenthood leaders.

A California Democrat who made a name for himself by taking on the health care industry is carrying a bill to regulate private equity stakes in the sector.

About 80 Californians die every year after contracting Valley fever, a fungal disease that typically affects the lungs. A recent outbreak was traced to a music festival in Kern County.

Patients looking for doctors who will take their insurance often find the list of doctors provided by their insurance companies are inaccurate or out of date. Insurers and doctors are fighting a bill that would fine insurers for having “ghost networks” that aren’t accurate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that set health care workers on a path to a $25 minimum wage. Lawmakers then delayed it, but some hospitals are raising pay ahead of schedule.

Premium increases largely vary by region and plan, but most consumers will receive subsidies that will protect them from steep hikes.

California State Hospitals can bill patients for the care they receive during confinement. The charges often run in the tens of thousands of dollars, putting vulnerable people in debt for years.

Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.