Health

Mental Health

California is spending billions on mental health housing. Will it reach those most in need?

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.

By

Kristen Hwang

• March 6, 2025

Two people wearing blue surgical masks hold signs in front of a giant letter block sculpture outside a hospital during a recent evening. One sign reads "I am Human" and the other reads "Gender Affirming Care is Hard Reduction" and includes two drawings of the transgender flag.

Mental Health

‘Will I be safe’? Transgender California youth feel threatened by Trump’s executive orders

Calls to LGBTQ crisis lines spiked after President Donald Trump's election. His policies target health care for young transgender people, creating uncertainty for a vulnerable community.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

and

Kristen Hwang

• March 5, 2025

Insulin doses in storage at a Kaiser Permanente warehouse in Downey on March 8, 2023. Photo by Ringo Chiu/SOPA Images/Sipa via Reuters

Health

California made a big bet on producing its own insulin. There’s no ‘date certain’ for delivery

Lea esta historia en Español Two years ago, California made a bold announcement that it would manufacture a state-branded, low-cost insulin. Drug manufacturers, insurers, economists and diabetics took notice. It had the potential to disrupt the market, bring down drug costs and save patients’ lives. Gov. Gavin Newsom promised a “2024 delivery” for the insulin. […]

By

Kristen Hwang

• March 3, 2025

Health

California has a lot to lose if Trump slashes Medicaid. Seniors, kids and more could face coverage cuts

Almost 15 million Californians have health care coverage through Medi-Cal, a program that stands to lose billions of dollars if Republicans follow through on proposed cuts.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• February 28, 2025

A person in a track jacket is standing in front of the front yard of a burned-down house in a neighborhood. The home is caved in with dark burned spots near the windows and on the door frames.

Health

California has known that disabled people need help in fires. After LA, can it better prepare for the next one?

California has known for years that it must pay extra attention to people with disabilities and limited mobility during natural disasters. Will it put the lessons of the L.A. fires to use for the next emergency?

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• February 19, 2025

A dad strokes his daughter's hair as she looks closely at a cellphone while they both sit on a chair at a hotel.

Health

His daughter has an ultra-rare genetic disorder. His push to treat it just hit a major milestone

Joe Lang has helped shape California policy as a lobbyist since the 1980s. For the past decade, he's pushed to find a cure for his daughter's ultra-rare genetic disorder.

By

Adam Ashton

• February 17, 2025

Health

LA clinics lose funding for transgender health care as Trump executive orders take hold

A Los Angeles community health clinic is considering a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a rescinded grant that was meant to support services for transgender patients.

By

Kristen Hwang

• February 4, 2025

A patient waits in line to pick up a prescription at La Clinica in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Health

California voters erased a plan to keep kids insured. It might be too late to fix it

Children regularly lose Medi-Cal coverage because of administrative errors. California's plan to keep them enrolled evaporated when voters passed Proposition 35.

By

Kristen Hwang

• February 3, 2025

David Daleiden walks outside of a courtroom in San Francisco, Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. Planned Parenthood has made an unusual legal demand to join California's criminal prosecution of two anti-abortion activists charged with invasion of privacy for secretly making videos as they tried to buy fetal material from the organization.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Health

Activists whose videos accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal remains plead to felony

David Daleiden released sensational videos that alleged Planned Parenthood officials were selling fetal remains. The videos triggered multiple investigations in various states that cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing.

By

Kristen Hwang

• January 29, 2025

A collage-style illustration in teal and green tones that includes several cut-out images including: two judges hold a gavel, gray columns, justice scales and the seal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Justice

Trump shifted the 9th Circuit to the right. What that means for abortion and reproductive care

President "Trump had a particularly significant impact on the 9th Circuit" in his first term, moving the reliably liberal appeals court to the right. That could influence abortion policy in the West.

By

Kristen Hwang

• January 27, 2025