hospitals

Medical personnel working in the nurse’s station in the Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Health

California delayed a minimum wage bump for health workers. Some are getting raises anyway

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.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• July 29, 2024

Mental Health

California sent a mentally ill man to a state hospital. Then it charged him $760,000

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.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• July 18, 2024

Trudy Pachon and her late husband Gary in the Valley of the Moon in San Diego in November 2019. Photo courtesy of Trudy Pachon

Commentary

A terminally ill California man chose a medically assisted death. His experience offers lessons for others

After fighting hard to live, a California man fought to die with dignity. Though medically assisted death is legal, there are still barriers.

By Trudy Pachon • July 17, 2024

Emergency medical technician Thomas Hoang, 29, of Emergency Ambulance Service, pushes a gurney into an emergency room to drop off a COVID-19 patient in Placentia on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo

Justice

Why increasing penalties for assaulting ER workers is dividing California Democrats

A bill that would increase penalties for those who assault hospital emergency department workers is facing the same pushback that other recent tough-on-crime legislation has from progressive Democrats leery of increasing incarceration rates.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• June 6, 2024

A patient room in the Emergency Room unit of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Health

Doctors vs. hospitals: A bid to regulate hedge funds is dividing California medical groups

Some of the most influential and wealthy groups in California politics are squaring off over legislation that would give California’s attorney general oversight of private equity firms and hedge funds acquiring major health care institutions.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• April 30, 2024

A nurse checks on a patient in the Emergency Room unit of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Health

A new California rule tries to hold down your health care costs. Here’s how it works

California now is one of nine states with regulations limiting health care cost increases. Consumers won’t necessarily notice the changes, but supporters say they will make a difference over time.

By

Kristen Hwang

• April 26, 2024

Health

An ‘impossible situation’: Why California hospitals are suing a major health insurer

California hospitals say slow insurance approvals delay care and block beds that could be used for new patients. They estimate they spend more $3 billion a year on unneeded hospitalization because of insurance delays.

By

Kristen Hwang

• April 23, 2024

A new born baby at Martin Luther King Community Hospital, in Los Angeles, on March 22, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Health

California hospitals keep closing their labor wards. Can lawmakers do anything about it?

Two California lawmakers introduced bills intended to slow maternity ward closures after a CalMatters investigation found nearly 50 hospitals had ended labor and delivery services between 2012 and 2023.

By

Kristen Hwang

• April 17, 2024

Dermatologist Dr. Margaret Parsons at her practice, Dermatology Consultants of Sacramento, in Sacramento on March 18, 2024. The practice experienced a cyber attack in early February. Five weeks later, they are still having issues with their network. Photo by José Luis Villegas for CalMatters

Technology

California doctors struggle to make payroll one month after ransomware attack

A cyber attack crippled claims processing nationwide, forcing doctors and hospitals to forgo payments and risk medical supply shortages.

By

Khari Johnson

and

Ana B. Ibarra

• March 21, 2024

Jen Saeta, a primary caregiver for Josh, shares a moment with her brother in the family’s living room at their home in Santa Rosa Valley, on March 11, 2024. In 2017, Josh visited West Hills Hospital for abdominal pain and the doctor ordered him to be sent to the ICU. Staff never transferred him and he had a heart attack and suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result. His family has taken care of him since, but over time they’ve learned more details about the conditions in the hospital that caused them to file the lawsuit. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters

Health

‘I couldn’t find a nurse:’ L.A. family sues hospital over life-altering injuries

An emergency trip to the hospital turned disastrous for a Los Angeles-area family when Joshua Saeta’s condition deteriorated, leaving him permanently incapacitated. In a lawsuit, the family says nurses later told them the hospital was dangerously understaffed.

By

Kristen Hwang

• March 19, 2024