California Bureau
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
441 - 460 of 1,959 Results
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California Pushes to Expand the Universe of Abortion Care Providers
A new California law allows trained physician assistants, also called physician associates, to perform first-trimester abortions without the presence of a supervising doctor. The legislation is part of a broader effort by the state to expand access to abortion care, especially in rural areas. Some doctor groups are wary.
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California Hospitals, Advocates Seek Stable Funding to Retain Behavioral Health Navigators
California has supported expanded use of medications in the fight against opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. But hospitals and addiction treatment advocates say the state needs to secure ongoing funding if it wants more behavioral health workers to guide patients into long-term treatment.
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How a Friend鈥檚 Death Turned Colorado Teens Into Anti-Overdose Activists
High school students in Colorado are pushing for a change they say is necessary to combat fentanyl poisoning: ensuring students can't get in trouble for carrying the overdose reversal drug naloxone wherever they go, including at school.
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Toxic Gas That Sterilizes Medical Devices Prompts Safety Rule Update
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening regulation of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used to sterilize medical devices. The agency is trying to balance the interests of the health care industry supply chain with those of communities where the gas creates airborne health risks.
By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead -
California Takes Up White House Call to Toughen Gun Storage Rules
State lawmakers are weighing legislation that would require gun owners to keep their firearms locked up most of the time, a move advocated by the Biden administration.
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California Lawsuit Spotlights Broad Legal Attack on Anti-Bias Training in Health Care
State laws requiring doctor training on how bias affects treatment violate teachers鈥 right to free speech, opponents say.
By Ronnie Cohen -
California Gov. Newsom Wants Voters to Approve Billions More to Help the Homeless. Will It Help?
A March 5 ballot initiative seeks $6.4 billion to build thousands of new housing units and provide mental health treatment for homeless people 鈥 on top of the billions already being spent to address the public health crisis. Despite significant support from health and law enforcement officials, many front-line workers are skeptical that more money is the answer.
By Angela Hart -
Health Care Workers Push for Their Own Confidential Mental Health Treatment
Montana may join about a dozen other states in creating 鈥渟afe havens鈥 that keep health care professionals from facing scrutiny from licensure boards for seeking mental health or addiction treatment.
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Lawsuits Claim South Carolina Kids Underwent Unnecessary Genital Exams During Abuse Investigations
Lawsuits allege that several children under 18 in South Carolina have undergone examinations of their private parts during child abuse investigations 鈥 even when there were no allegations of sexual abuse. There鈥檚 a growing consensus in medicine that genital exams can be embarrassing, uncomfortable, and even traumatic.
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In California, Faceoff Between Major Insurer and Health System Shows Hazards of Consolidation
Even as Anthem Blue Cross and University of California Health announced a contract agreement this month, analysts say patients are increasingly at risk of being affected by such disputes.
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New Eligibility Rules Are a Financial Salve for Nearly 2 Million on Medi-Cal
Nearly 2 million Medi-Cal enrollees, mainly people who are aged, disabled, or in long-term care, can now accumulate savings and property without limitations and still qualify for the state鈥檚 health insurance program for low-income residents. They join an additional roughly 12 million enrollees who already had no asset limits.
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Early Detection May Help Kentucky Tamp Down Its Lung Cancer Crisis
After a decade of work, a Kentucky program launched to diagnose lung cancer earlier is beginning to change the prognosis for residents by catching tumors when they鈥檙e more treatable.
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California Prison Drug Overdoses Surge Again After Early Treatment Success
Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year, a big setback for corrections officials who thought they were on the right track with medication-assisted treatment efforts. Prison officials and attorneys representing prisoners blame fentanyl.
By Don Thompson -
FDA’s Plan to Ban Hair Relaxer Chemical Called Too Little, Too Late
The FDA鈥檚 recent notice that it would move to ban formaldehyde in hair-straightening products comes more than a decade after researchers raised alarms about health risks. Scientists say a ban would still leave many dangerous chemicals in hair straighteners.
By Ronnie Cohen -
Cities Know That the Way Police Respond to Mental Crisis Calls Must Change. But How?
Cities are experimenting with new ways to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when incidents of police shooting and killing people in mental health crisis have become painfully familiar.
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Is Housing Health Care? State Medicaid Programs Increasingly Say 鈥榊es鈥
States are using their Medicaid programs to offer poor and sick people housing services, such as paying six months鈥 rent or helping hunt for apartments. The trend comes in response to a growing homelessness epidemic, but experts caution this may not be the best use of limited health care money.
By Angela Hart -
Back From COP28, California Climate Leaders Talk Health Impacts of Warming
Three leading California officials who represented the state at the United Nations climate talks late last year reflect on climate change鈥檚 growing threat to human health 鈥 and explain what the state is trying to do about it.