Health

A beleaguered state program that provides hearing aids to children may soon include families with partial insurance coverage and youth up to 21 years old after the Legislature included the expansion in the budget bills. About 2,000 more children would be helped.

Although a California bill would have allowed vaccines for teens without parental consent made it to the final days of the legislative session, it failed to pass. Some legislators saw the bill as an “overreach” that undermined parental decisions.

Lawmakers approved a bill to protect those receiving or providing transgender health care in California from prosecution under a wave of legislation in other states. But the proposal drew intense opposition from the California Family Council. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill.

While monkeypox vaccines are targeted to the state’s largest cities, where case numbers are highest, other communities are struggling to respond. In the Central Valley, public health officials are waiting for resources and trying to get information to residents seeking help.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed a handful of California cities and counties to operate supervised drug injection sites. In his veto message, he said he's concerned these sites could result in unintended consequences or worsen the drug crisis.

Monkeypox tests and vaccines are in short supply as public health officials grapple with red tape and short supplies. Yet some of the processes put in place in response to COVID-19 have helped.

A program intended to provide hearing aids and services to thousands of children without health insurance has delivered devices to only a tiny fraction of those who need them. Parents complain the application process is cumbersome, while doctors say the state is reimbursing slowly or not at all.

The union representing 2,000 Kaiser Northern California mental health works announced plans to strike, citing high workloads and long waits for patients.

In California, 32,000 children under 18 have experienced the death of a parent or primary caregiver from COVID-19. The state has set aside $100 million for trust funds for children who are in low-income families to access when they turn 18 for school, housing or other expenses.

Rates in the state’s health insurance marketplace will increase an average of 6% next year. The agency also warned premiums may double for some enrollees if Congress does not renew federal aid.