Health

Californians are smoking less: Why that’s a problem for these early childhood services

A new ban on flavored tobacco products is accelerating a decline in nicotine tax revenue that funds California’s early childhood services. Some programs are already making cuts.

By Ana B. Ibarra • July 18, 2023

Mental Health

Gavin Newsom’s mental health plan could strip more than $700 million from services, report says

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to rethink how California spends its millionaire’s tax by directing more money toward housing. Some county-run mental health programs could lose out.

By Kristen Hwang • July 17, 2023

Dr. Kyle Patton checks the heartbeat of one of his patients, William, while in a Raley’s grocery store parking lot in northwest Redding on Sept. 19, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Health

‘Go to the people’: Street medicine teams bring health care to the unhoused

California’s more than 170,000 unhoused people often lack the means and mobility to locate and visit a doctor who will accept them. At least 25 street medicine teams throughout the state are trying to fill that gap by providing health care to unhoused individuals in need.

By Larry Valenzuela • July 11, 2023

Cynthia Garcia Williams, Lead Peer Parent Partner, at Sycamores El Nido Campus in Altadena on June 30, 2023. Photo by Julie A Hotz for CalMatters

Health

Why mental health providers say Medi-Cal’s latest reform may force them to cut services

Medi-Cal is changing how it pays mental health providers. Many of those providers say they may no longer be able to afford peer support specialists, home visits and other services.

By Kristen Hwang • July 6, 2023

Health

Why single-payer advocates are split on how to overhaul health care

Two proposals that would usher in single-payer health care have divided former allies in the fight for reform.

By Ana B. Ibarra • July 5, 2023

An elderly couple hold hands at nursing home in California in 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Health

Troubled nursing home chain owner gets new licenses just before state reforms take effect

California health officials say granting the licenses prevents the eviction of hundreds of residents from their homes and provides oversight provisions, including a two-year monitoring period.

By Marisa Kendall • June 30, 2023

Neighborhood resource coordinators Gustavo, center and Jawid Sharifi, right, meet with unhoused residents at a homeless encampment on W Street and Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento on April 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Mental Health

Newsom is proposing a boost in mental health funding. Why children’s advocates are worried

The spending change would prioritize housing for homeless people, which children's mental health advocates fear will cut their funding.

By Kristen Hwang • June 20, 2023

An examination room at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento on June 1, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Health

Why ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ will be California’s next abortion battleground

California legislators have passed a slew of laws to protect abortion rights. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many fear attempting to regulate “crisis pregnancy centers” is legally risky.

By Kristen Hwang • June 16, 2023

California may increase digital privacy by stopping police from using warrants to obtain people's internet search information. Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Health

California’s digital privacy battle: It’s police vs. civil libertarians, with an abortion twist

California is considering banning the use of "reverse search warrants," which compel tech companies to disclose the identities of individuals based on the location of their phone and internet search history. Abortion activists call it vital.

By Kristen Hwang • June 2, 2023

Health

California wants to increase pay for some Medi-Cal providers. How it might help patients access care

California officials are proposing to increase reimbursement rates for some Medi-Cal providers, who say low pay rates prevent them from taking more patients.

By Ana B. Ibarra • May 23, 2023

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